Day +10: Origins. In contrast to my outward facing 'fitness freak' persona, many have asked how I ended up chronically ill and eventually on the slab receiving a kidney transplant. The story began two decades ago and my my eventual diagnosis which was due the curiosity of a particular GP I saw by chance and his desire to do good by his patients. Thursday was a day where I was waiting and did practically nothing - this is an appropriately long read.
Day +9 was a day of more positive news and moderate exercise, albeit tempered by more waiting and watching of the world go by. Sometimes you don't get exactly the news you had hoped for, but when it's for your own good you can't help but feel contented and grateful.
Day +8: Some time ago I made a pact with myself: To be as fit and active as possible and not to let my illness drag me down. My motto has been to 'only slow down when you have to'. Admittedly I was forced to slow down a lot, but staying active yielded tangible benefits. Exercise and healthy eating works. Trust me.
Day +7: Long Awaited Reductions - Monday became the beginning of the end of my stay on ward 726 - the end was now in sight. All I would need to see me through was a lot of patience, regular painkillers and and plenty of cardboard pee bottles.
My life had already irrevocably changed for the better, but there was a lot of information still to take in. The staff knew it was front-loading their patients and to take it easy by drip feeding the essential aspects of their care that was to be self-administered. The Doctor warned me that I was now a very different beast from the one that entered hospital seven days earlier and that it would take some getting used to.
Today I started my new routine of dialysis from the comfort of my own home. Frequent dialysis is better dialysis, however the treatment provided at the kidney unit really is the minimum they can get away with; roughly the equivalent of a single kidney working at about 5% capacity. Since lockdown I had been receiving … Continue reading Coming Home
Perhaps the Dali Lama was right when he said that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck? #TeamKidney
Some of you may no doubt have picked up from a previous blog that, not content with kidney failure and a long-standing diagnosis of epilepsy, the doctors thought it timely to diagnose me with a heart problem. Accordingly, I spent much of yesterday at the UHNM wired up to various machines and being quizzed by … Continue reading I’m Abnormal! Who Knew?!
Yikes! Please Sponsor Us! 100km Race to the Stones for #TeamKidney
Last Sunday I went into the Potter ‘Arf Marathon I with my eyes wide open. The reality of Stafford and Manchester had cut my bravado down-to-size and had given me a good hard kick in the nuts. The aim for the day was very clear. A) not to blow up part way round and B) … Continue reading Potters ‘Arf 2019: Not For Wimps
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