Called in for Transplant. Monday June 25, 2012

On Monday June 25, 2012 I received several phone calls from a private number. I'm not sure how, because I have a blocking system on my cell phone that automatically blocks private number calls. But anyway, I got a call. I almost didn't answer it but knowing I was ready for transplant I decided to answer that private call. Thank God I did answer it, it was the transplant center at Florida Hospital in Orlando and she informed me that the transplant team had received 2 kidneys and I was to get the second one. She told me that the kidneys had not been inspected by the surgeons yet and there was a possibility that I could be sent home if there was damage to the kidney. This was around 4pm and she said they would get the kidneys around 9pm and I should be notified by 10pm if I would get the kidney. In the mean time they tell me to lay down and rest. I was thinking there is no way I can rest until I know for sure that I will get the kidney. Needless to say someone forgot to let me know at 10pm about the status of the kidney. The nurse came in and said it was a good sign that I had not been sent home yet so there was hope for me getting the kidney. Finally after midnight the nurse did tell me my surgery was scheduled at 930am. But they still had not got the final confirmation I would get the kidney. She told me the same thing, at least I had not been sent home yet. I don't think I slept any at all that night. First thing the following morning, Tuesday June 26, 20012. I was finally informed the kidney was mine and I would get the transplant. Then as 930am approached, nothing happened, I walked to the nurses station to find out what was going on and was informed they had problems with some other transplant and they were still in OR and as soon as they were done, I would be the next one. About every hour a nurse came in and said it would be about an hour. No one showed up at the top of the hour. So I was starting to get really nervous. Finally about 3:30pm staff from surgery came in and talked to me. Thank God. The first thing they said they were going to do is give me some medication to help me sleep. They started giving me the shot and I passed out cold. The next thing I knew was I ended up in ICU. I finally got into OR at about 4:30 and was in ICU by a few minutes after 6pm The intubation & medication hurt my throat and dried my mouth out. Needless to say all night I had the nurse bring me cups of ice. I must have eaten about 10 pounds of ice that night after the surgery. About 430 am I was becoming restless in bed and told the nurses I needed to sit up. They at first refused to let me sit up and finally they gave me the ok to get into the chair. My backside was killing me, I never sleep flat on my back and had been laying on my back for a while now. I got up and yest it hurt like crazy and the morphine pump just would not pump enough morphine into me to control the pain. It did help some but I stayed in pain after I was up. Once I got rested into the chair, the pain was much better and my back was starting to feel normal again. I was still up in the chair when the doctor made rounds and he was so impressed that I had been up so long and had eaten so much ice with no problems, he actually let me eat real food for breakfast. I was extremely happy to get to eat. I had been NPO since I arrived at the hospital and I was starving. It wasn't long after breakfast that the nurses told me I had been peeing a lot and they were impressed with the amount of urine output I had. Needless to say shortly there after I was placed in a regular room. They started the painful rehab and having to get up and walk, which hurts mainly because of the staples. Every time I moved I could feel the staples pulling. But this time was nothing compared to the first time. With the first transplant I had 80 staples from the transplant and with this transplant I only had 20. Even the transplant clinic nurse said she could not believe I only had 20 staples and she asked me if I took some of them out. Of course I had not. But the surgeon only had to use 20 to get me stapled up. I will be posting more in the next few days about the progress of the transplant. But thats an update from the call to the surgery.