Forward: This blog is very much intended to be a source of information for potential transplant patients, as well as friends and family and everyone who is interested in the kidney failure/transplant journey. For those of you that are in a similar place regarding your own transplant journey, please remember that this is just my experience – it may not be the same for everyone. This is based on many factors, not least gender, but also age and where your procedures are conducted.
And Gents, the following few paragraphs may make your eyes water.
On Monday afternoon my stent was removed. This was put in during the transplant surgery and sat between my new kidney and my bladder. It stopped the tube from collapsing and had been in place for 8 weeks (two weeks longer than the planned 6, due to delays at the Hospital). It was the last piece of surgical plastic that remained inside my body and I was super keen to get it removed. The one and only cause for anxiety was the fact that the only way out was via my second-man-brain (penis). Once again I had to leave dignity in the waiting room but, in the event, the whole procedure took just a few minutes. I had to be completely naked, apart from socks, shoes and a surgical gown. Once stripped I was called into the theater, asked to hike the gown up around my waist and to lie down on a man-sized puppy training pad. A nurse then announced she was going to give the area a clean and set about me as if she was scrubbing a coffee stain out of a carpet. That made me jump.
Next, the doctor poured an icy-cold liquid over my groin which numbed the area to an extent. Then, with little ceremony he took a firm grip and whacked a syringe of lubricant into the end of my jimmy, pressing the plunger. Wow. Once I was suitably frozen and lubricated the camera made a swift and chilly entrance. This is used to locate the stent and is mounted on the end of a flexible tube that goes all the way up the urethra and into the bladder. I could see the inside of my bladder on the screen and the bright blue plastic stent, still neatly in place. We could also see where it had rubbed against the wall of the bladder which was the likely source of the bleeding last week. A ‘grabber’ device was then inserted inside the tube which hooked onto the stent. Once they had a hold of it, it took a couple of seconds to haul out the inches-long plastic stent. Then the camera followed and it was done! It didn’t hurt but was quite uncomfortable and very, very peculiar. It lasted less that two minutes.
Immediately I could feel the stent was gone. It was inserted during the transplant while I was under general anesthetic. When I woke up from that everything had changed and I felt like I had been worked over by Hulk Hogan. As I recovered, I simply got used to it being there, whilst not knowing exactly where or what it was. But once it had gone, I could tell and felt immediately better. Within a few minutes I was dressed and discharged with a prescription for a course of antibiotics. I also had instructions to drink at least three pints of water to flush myself through. I had been nervous about the procedure but it was so quick I now know that I really had nothing to worry about. I do need to mention that peeing absolutely wrecked for about 48 hours and there was a slight risk on infection, hence the antibiotics. There was also the risk of more bleeding but, thankfully, I have been free of any more frights.
By the end of the week the painful peeing had worn off and I was feeling a bit more confident about exercising. With the stent gone the risk of complications is vastly reduced and I went for a quick run/walk on Friday afternoon to get a feel for where I was physically. It was really hard work… I can only run for short distances and very slowly. My Achilles tendons are extremely tight and quickly start to burn. My legs are stiff like uncooked spaghetti. This is to be expected really, as they have not run anywhere for the best part of a year (not to mention me having kidney failure, months of dialysis and a big operation). But now I have a baseline – a platform on which to build. On Saturday I took part in the Virtual Ipstones 5 mile race (a very popular event on the local running scene) with an entry that was gifted to me by my friend and local running legend Ken Rushton. Thank you Ken! I didn’t run but yomped briskly and was accompanied Kerry and friends Jacquie and Rob. I enjoyed it a lot and it felt good to be participating – however loosely – once again. The support I have received from my club and the local running community has been incredible. I am quietly motivated like never before.
My next priority is to formulate a sensible plan. It needs to be something holistic, taking into account lifestyle and well-being. I will take it one mile at a time and take them on slowly and with purpose. I will make sure I give myself time to recover, listen to my body and dedicate time to stretching and resting – essentially all the things I am rubbish at. I will also make sure I smile while I do it. I want it to be a simple plan to compliment an all-together simpler lifestyle. There are enough complications in being a transplant patient without adding to it with a needlessly complicated and over ambitious training plan. Simple exercise, simple food and an altogether simpler life. In the past my training plan for long distance endurance events has been to run a long way without stopping, which has generally done the trick. The hardest part was finding time to fit it into a hectic lifestyle. At the moment, time is something I have an abundance of. This will soon change as life gets back to new-normal, but for now I think the above will serve me well. What do you think?
Answers on a post card (or in the comments) please!
#R24TRC 