Update on the Kidney Transplant

For those who don’t know, I was called to UMC to see if I was a match for a kidney that was waiting for a recipient. In three hours I was matched and into surgery. So on October 13, 2023 I became a proud recipient of a new kidney.

I was very fortunate. The donor had just died a day or two before while on the operating table for heart surgery. The kidney was strong and started working right away. Both the urine making and the filtering started working and I did not have to do dialysis in the hospital.

I came home on Monday night after being told that I was doing remarkably well. After the first couple of days I had no pain, just pressure. My bladder though was not used to such consistent output. It’s been complaining for days. I call it my gay designer who got everything working to his satisfaction and then I changed it on him. So I’m walking up every two hours to pee.

I want to thank my family for providing support during this time. Karissa came to the hospital a few times and took me to my first appointment after going home on Wednesday. Josh, my nephew, got me to the hospital and then drove me home. He helped with little Foxy and she is doing better after several days in his care. He changed her diet which I have continued because she acts like a new dog.

Eventually when I am used to the schedule, I have certain things I have to do at certain times to keep my kidney safe, I will tell the story of how I started this journey in a more creative fashion.

It’s been an adventure. The unit I was in was full of happiness and was not what I expected from a hospital. I really loved each one of my nurses.

I’m sorry about the daily calendar. I may have to turn it into a monthly. I did load up on poetry and stories, but I noticed that the posts are starting to run out. I will be back because I am in almost complete isolation for three months until they can let my immune system rise a bit.

So thank you everyone. And I’ll see you here. I have been doing short drips of stuff on X-twitter. My handle is Cyn’s Shadowland: Navy Vet.