Not a lot to update….Tim is doing well, yesterday was a little rough but they said it would get worse then better and today is a better day. Tim and I just went out for a walk and went farther than before so that’s good…for those of you that don’t know Tim very well….he’s a follow the rules kinda guy and he always reads the directions….so you can count on the fact that he’ll be doing everything right on this healing journey. I’m a lucky woman to have this man in my life and feel extremely fortunate that we will be able to go on vacations again and live life the way it should be and not tied down to dialysis. We’ve been discussing about what you say to someone that has given you such a gift, one that will change our families lives…thank you doesn’t seem to be enough. Marc, Tim’s donor is a very humble man with a huge heart and doesn’t want anyone to make a big deal about it….THANK YOU MARC!!!!!! We are now family ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Tests
7am at the lab getting Tim’s twice weekly bloodwork done….every Monday and Thursday he’ll be doing bloodwork.
Transplant Diagram
Thought I would give y’all a run down of what a transplant surgery consists of……unless you are in pain or the diseased kidneys are causing an issue, they don’t tend to remove them, so the new kidney just gets added in, in a different spot…as you can see by the diagram, your kidneys are up high…with the transplant, they put the new kidney down more in the pelvic area…the kidney gets removed from the donor with a ureter connected, then that ureter gets connected to the bladder with stitches….those stitches heal in 2 weeks so during that time, Tim has to make sure to urinate every hour during the day and every 2 hours at night so that the bladder does not get too full and put pressure on the stitches…..Also what a lot of you may not realize is that during dialysis which Tim was on for 15 months is that his fluid intake was limited to about 40-50 oz per day (most people are told that you should drink half your body weight in ounces…so a 200lb person should drink 100 ounces) and so many foods that he was limited on due to being high in potassium, which are some of his favorites, like tomatoes, avocados, melons, banana, oranges, peanut butter, nectarines…and many more….also dialysis patients need to watch their sodium and phosphorus intake……now that he has had the transplant, he can eat all those wonderful fruits and vegetables that he has been missing out on and are part of a healthy diet….oh and ….he can drink as much fluid as he wants……..and…….we can actually go places without having to be close to dialysis which was Tues, Thurs and Saturdays for about 4 hours each time……I hope this gives you a little perspective into the life of a patient with kidney disease……also I would like to say that if you are not wanting to be a living donor please think about being on the deceased donor list….so many people are needing organs and at that point you will not be needing them anymore….and like I like to say for kidney donors….”share your spare”, you only need one to live…
Pill Tackle Box
Huge pill box, but not as many pills as we thought…..some of these will taper off…..super important not to miss taking your pills with a transplant…9 prescriptions currently…
Headed home
Almost homeward bound
IV just removed…next we have a bag full of meds and training to fill the pill “tackle” box then we can head home for healing and rest…Tim was very well cared for….only bad part was a small shared room….didn’t have a roommate til late yesterday so it could’ve been worse…except the roomie is Russian so during the Super Bowl he was listening to something in Russian…but I’ll take whatever for this life changing experience
My Heros
Well I finally got a picture last night of the guys together…Tim and I walked down one floor to see Marc and as you can see they are thrilled about the picture….Marc has been coming to visit Tim but seems that he was in bed each time, so we finally had our opportunity…..I just heard that the catheter is out so that sounds like going home today…whoop whoop!!!
Pictures are worth a thousand words
View from 25th floor Holiday Inn at night 
View from 25th floor Holiday Inn Morning 
Tim enjoying a walk admiring the view of the Golden Gate 
view from 6th floor at California Pacific Medical Center 
Not a great view but you can’t beat a rainbow…
Tim and Marc are both doing well…both anxious to go home….since they are both doing so well it sounds like they both will be going home tomorrow…..can’t believe that Tim will be getting to go home just 3 days after receiving a new kidney, but since both the guys are BADASS…..they will get discharged.
Doing well
Both guys are doing well today…they have been up and walking…Tim was told by the Dr that he’s the healthiest patient in the ICU…including some of the Drs….
Poem to Marc from our daughter Emily
A Generous Soul
How do I begin to thank a man so giving,
Who would give up a part of himself so another could keep living.
You may not have been a part of our family before,
But as far as I’m concerned you will be forever more.
There’s nothing we could do to match what you’ve done,
As the gift of life is comparable to none.
I can’t express all the gratitude I contain,
But I’ll keep trying as I know it’s not in vane.
So thank you Marc from the bottom of my heart,
You and your family have given us a fresh start!