Part Forty Seven: Three Week Update

At some point early this morning, I realized that it was Wednesday... which in turn made me realize that it has been three weeks now since Kidney Day.

I wonder if I will always associate Wednesday with kidneys and the day that I gave up one of mine.

I can almost see myself, many years from now, on a Wednesday... sitting in my rocking chair on the porch and musing to myself, "Well, it's been 2728 weeks now since Kidney Day."

Three weeks out, I feel pretty good. I know that I am lucky to have recovered so fast and I am grateful for this.

My biggest complaint these days is fatigue. I get tired a lot more easily than normal, but I'm not sure if it's the surgery or just my lack of activity. Sitting in a chair all day really does suck the life out of you.

My incisions are still healing up. The larger one is doing well, the crusty scabby parts are all pretty much gone and now it's just sort of a raised red/pink line. The smaller ones are taking a little bit longer to heal. They are still somewhat scabby and oozy but they are slowly closing up. I'm still having problems with the one under the fat roll, but it is making progress as well. They don't itch quite as much as they used to, which is a relief.

My biggest accomplishment lately is being able to sneeze without thinking I'm going to die or that my insides are ripping open. I can't even describe how frightening and painful sneezing can be when you've just had surgery. I got to the point where I was trying my hardest to avoid sneezing. Eventually the old stick-the-finger-under-the-nose trick quit working and I just had to let it out. It's been a lot better though, the past few days. I just make sure that I grab my belly and hold it tight before I sneeze.

I still feel swollen and sore on the left side of my abdomen, but each day it gets better. For quite a while, my stomach felt so numb and tingly. Then it started "waking up" and I had a lot more discomfort, especially down below my belly button. I still don't feel normal, but I am more mobile and less guarded. I don't even really notice the soreness unless you poke me or if I try to turn or bend a funny way.

The first day back at work went fine and I ended up picking up a few hours yesterday afternoon as well. I seem to be fine carrying boxes around, as long as I don't have to bend over to pick them up. I generally only feel a little bit tight on my side when I'm doing it. I'm working about 15 hours this week and next week and then will be taking on a lot more hours toward the end of the month and into December. The UPS Store gets pretty busy during the holiday season, but I am feel up to the task.

Meanwhile, my Dad is doing well. He was able to score a month's supply of EPOGEN, which should help with his anemia. They think his creatinine level has gotten almost as low as it is going to go, but are waiting to start him on his last anti-rejection drug until it does. Mostly, I think he is just getting bored with being stuck in an unfamiliar house and having to sleep in a different bed. If he is going to sit around, he wants to do it at his own house. He's hoping that if he shows enough improvement, he can go home to stay soon. In other news, Dad gets his peritoneal dialysis catheter removed on Friday! I can only imagine what a relief it will be to get rid of that thing! It's gotta be kind of annoying/scary to have that tube hanging out of you. We'll all be glad to see it gone!

Update: Reader Sheila from OH asked if my dad had lost any weight. Actually, last I heard he'd lost nearly 20 pounds since the surgery. It's kind of weird because they had told him the new drugs would cause him to gain about 20 pounds. But being off that high-calorie peritoneal dialysis and a smaller appetite has got him down to about 185 pounds.

I will leave you with a picture of me and my pretty cat, Keetah. It was quite an accomplishment to pick her up. Just don't tell the doctor. I think she might weight more than 15 pounds. Note: She really does have two big ol' eyes. One of them is shut and the other is squinty here. I swear!