This week marks my 6-month anniversary of my transplants. I'm doing very well physically...about 85% & much more comfortable than pre-surgery. Praise God!!
Let me tell you about waking from my 12-hour nap that took place 6 months ago on June 18...
I can't believe that I can remember this because I was told that it happened while I was still in the operating room. I remember starting to wake from anesthesia & realizing that my prayer was answered--the medical team was asking me to cough because they were going to remove the tube in my throat. It was uncomfortable but I told myself "wow this isn't too bad...why was I afraid of this?" So, God answered my prayer before I even left the O.R.--amazing!! Another thing I remember as I was waking were 2 comments: "Her blood sugars are in the 600's." That alarmed me, but I knew that they had it under control. Nobody else seemed worried because they broadcasted it with all of the other vitals & blood levels so I guessed it was a normal part of post-surgery.
The other comment was: "Look, she's peeing!!" That meant that my new kidney was joining his new friends (my old kidneys). We later learned that my original kidneys weren't removed. Once Meg was removed & the surgeons could actually see my kidneys, they decided to keep them because they weren't too large. Also, their function is decreasing but they are still working well. So, now I have 3 kidneys!
The other comment was: "Look, she's peeing!!" That meant that my new kidney was joining his new friends (my old kidneys). We later learned that my original kidneys weren't removed. Once Meg was removed & the surgeons could actually see my kidneys, they decided to keep them because they weren't too large. Also, their function is decreasing but they are still working well. So, now I have 3 kidneys!
I headed to the 1st stage of recovery in the ICU. The next several hours were really busy. I had 2 nurses dedicated to my care & they were constantly doing something to or for me. After I was stable enough, Todd was able to join me in the ICU. At first, I was hesitant to have him with me because I didn't know how he would handle seeing me in this amount of pain. He didn't like to see me in pain before surgery. But this time it was different--I needed to go through this pain as part of the recovery process. He handled everything well & I was really thankful that he could be there.
This is me at 7am.
I had tubes coming out of almost everywhere! I remember asking for lollipops (swabs with water). You'll see one in my hand. I still wasn't allowed to swallow any water so they had a small tube in my throat going to my stomach. My mouth & throat were uncomfortably dry. I was awake & able to talk. Looking back, I can't believe how coherent I was so soon after surgery. The pain meds were given very frequently & kept it pretty well under control. By the time I would start to sleep, it was time for pain med. It reminded me of labor contractions...just as I would start to relax, another wave of pain came.
Around
3pm--Dr. Cameron made me happy when he removed the tube from my nose to
stomach & also removed 1 of the tubes in my neck. Ahhhh--what a
relief!! I'm not a big fan of really cold drinks with ice so I never
thought I would get so excited about being advanced to tiny sips of cold water & an occasional ice chip.
Late in the afternoon (about 24 hours after surgery had started), I was transferred to a chair. It exhausted me to be vertical--wow, was I weak! I quickly befriended a pillow. The abdominal pain was really starting to kick in so every hiccup or cough or even sniff was a major ordeal. I was encouraged to try to cough to loosen any fluid that may have settled in my chest.
Before surgery, we had been told that I could be in the ICU for a few days & may even have to go back into the OR if there were complications. Because of God's provision of healing & amazing caregivers (including my husband), I left the ICU within 24 hours of surgery!
As I was being transferred from ICU to the next stage, the transporter asked how I was feeling. I said "I guess I'm as good as I can be just 24 hours after a surgery". He said "do you realize that you just had 1 of the largest surgeries that we do here at Hopkins?" That really struck me because I hadn't looked at it that way before. I was grateful because I knew that I was really ahead of the recovery schedule & I could feel God watching over me.
I was about to face my worst night while in the hospital. Talk to you on the next post.....
Belinda
This is me at 7am.
I had tubes coming out of almost everywhere! I remember asking for lollipops (swabs with water). You'll see one in my hand. I still wasn't allowed to swallow any water so they had a small tube in my throat going to my stomach. My mouth & throat were uncomfortably dry. I was awake & able to talk. Looking back, I can't believe how coherent I was so soon after surgery. The pain meds were given very frequently & kept it pretty well under control. By the time I would start to sleep, it was time for pain med. It reminded me of labor contractions...just as I would start to relax, another wave of pain came.
Late in the afternoon (about 24 hours after surgery had started), I was transferred to a chair. It exhausted me to be vertical--wow, was I weak! I quickly befriended a pillow. The abdominal pain was really starting to kick in so every hiccup or cough or even sniff was a major ordeal. I was encouraged to try to cough to loosen any fluid that may have settled in my chest.
Before surgery, we had been told that I could be in the ICU for a few days & may even have to go back into the OR if there were complications. Because of God's provision of healing & amazing caregivers (including my husband), I left the ICU within 24 hours of surgery!
As I was being transferred from ICU to the next stage, the transporter asked how I was feeling. I said "I guess I'm as good as I can be just 24 hours after a surgery". He said "do you realize that you just had 1 of the largest surgeries that we do here at Hopkins?" That really struck me because I hadn't looked at it that way before. I was grateful because I knew that I was really ahead of the recovery schedule & I could feel God watching over me.
I was about to face my worst night while in the hospital. Talk to you on the next post.....
Belinda
