My dad hadn't been home since his transplant and had to seek special permission to make the trip back to see his sister. Originally, he acted as though he might just sneak away for Saturday afternoon. But then Saturday turned into the weekend, and then the weekend turned into Monday morning, and the next thing I know, he's not coming back until Tuesday morning when he had his next appointment scheduled.
I had seen my Aunt Billie the night before my surgery, but decided that if my dad was returning home, I would go with him. Saturday morning my mom called me up and told me that they'd given Dad the OK to go home... and the next thing I knew I was throwing together an overnight bag and running out the door to catch a ride with them. At this point, I thought I might be gone for one night... I had no idea that I would end up staying there until this morning.
My dad has eight brothers and sisters and they are a pretty tight bunch. When there is cause for mourning or celebration or any need for support, they all seem to swoop in at the same time. With my aunt back at home and her days numbered, the family came out in full force. It was nice to see everyone and I'm sure that my aunt was comforted by their presence. But I couldn't help but feel bad for her, laying there helpless and confused while so many visitors paraded in and out of the room. Aunt Billie's grandchildren were there and I felt bad for them as well. They just wanted to run and play and didn't quite understand the need to be quiet and respectful of their grandma in the other room.
Many of the same family members made the trip to the hospital to visit me and my dad during our surgeries. A lot of the friends who came to visit also made a stop to see my dad next door. So many of them were so excited to see me and to offer thanks and praise for what I did for my dad. People said they were proud of me... that I was a "brave little girl"... some confided that they would have donated, if only they'd been a little bit healthier.
After more than a week and half had passed since the surgery, I was starting to come down a little bit from the excitement and euphoria of donation. It was nice for to hear people reminding me of what a wonderful thing I did... but it also started to get irritating on some level. Probably because the only thanks that I want to hear is from my Dad.
The trip home gave me plenty of time to visit with my grandparents, who had made the trip up from Florida for the kidney transplant. It was nice to spend some time with them and with my mom. I also got to see my younger brother a couple of times while I was there. We played a lot of Scrabble (I let my dad win a few times), and on Sunday morning I helped my dad get his pills sorted out for the week.
I had been looking forward to a restful mini-vacation at my parents house, but ended up getting quite exhausted with all of the family coming in and out. I was tired and my back was hurting me quite a bit, but I think that's mostly because I slept on the couch for three nights. My incisions are continuing to heal, although I've gotten a little carried away with picking at the scabs. I finally put a band-aid over one of the smaller ones so that I couldn't touch it any more. I don't want them to heal funny or super-ugly, so I'm trying to keep my hands off.
I'm still fairly sore on my side and abdominal area. I've been wearing jeans regularly now, but notice that I usually have to unbutton or change out of them by the evening because they really start to hurt my tender belly. I've also noticed that my abdomen will start to hurt a little bit when I sit forward or straight for long periods of time. Between the ride to and from my parents house and the rest of the running around we did, I logged lots of time in the car. I think this added to my discomfort quite a bit. I was really starting to miss my comfortable chair and heating pad after a while.
Other than that, I'm fine. I'm very glad to be home now... back in the land of high-speed internet, and non-fattening foods, and my own bed. I plan to call my boss soon, to make arrangements for coming back to work. I think I'm going to start out with just a few hours and day and we'll see how that goes. I don't really want to go back, but I can't afford to just sit around for much longer.
