Surgery Update – The Morning After
Everything seems to be going well! Dad is in the ICU while they keep monitoring his body functons and fluid output. The ultrasounds show that the blood is flowing well through the kidney, which is great…no rejection so far…so now we just need to follow the toxin levels and make sure they start to decrease, meaning that the kidney has ‘taken’ and is doing its job filtering out the nasties. If he keeps it up, he’ll be out of the ICU tomorrow and up on the 6th floor doing some regular recovery with the non-emergency crew for a few more days after that. They expect his entire stay to be about a week long and he’s not allowed to drive or exert himself for a month. Small price to pay to be able to use the restroom normally and not have to sit in a dialysis machine three times a week for the rest of his life!
Cleadus had a rough patch there right after surgery if only because the stupid staff forgot to turn on his medication machine. He endured about an hour with no medications, and kept telling the nurse that it hurt so badly. Apparently they were a bit condescending and just kept telling him to push his button and give himself a dose of morphine. He’d been pushing it like mad, but the nurses just didn’t believe him for some reason. Finally, someone walked in and actually LOOKED at the machine and said a quick, “oops!” and flipped the ON switch. Cleadus has been MUCH better since then, and was even able to get up and go for a short walk yesterday. According to Lisa he looks good and is doing really well today, so that’s wonderful to hear! The trauma to his body due to the surgery (specifically his colon) means that he has to restrict his diet for a few days and only drink fluids. Once the colon relaxes back into its normal position and allows Cleadus some regular bodily functions, then he’s allowed to go home too, so he’s just happy to be out of pain and looks forward to some solid food in a day or two. Here’s hoping he can be home for Easter with his girls.
Random trivia: Over the next year, Cleadus’s remaining kidney will nearly double in size to accomodate his regular functions, so he will have a tendancy to be more tired than usual until the growth spurt ends.
Random smiles: Adorable Grace spent a good deal of time recently hunkering down, throwing a go-for-the-gipper sort of punch in the air in front of her chest while shouting out…”GO KIDNEY!” We may need to make another tee shirt to commemorate her cuteness.
All seems to be going smoothly, and we’ll keep you posted with any news updates! Thanks again to all of you for the love, support, and prayers!
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