I drove to the hospital today to do my follow-up bloodwork and to have post-op consultations with the surgeon and psychologist.
The transplant program psychologist was ready when I got there, so I actually met with her first. Just a brief chat about how I felt about the surgery and the recovery so far. She asked if there was anything I wish they had told me that they didn't, and the only suggestion I had was to remind donors of the potential for transplant cancellation or postponement. It never even crossed my mind that we might be cancelled, until it happened, and I think that's important for donors to be aware of. Otherwise, I felt well-informed.
I had my blood pressure taken right after that, and it was high, so the nurse took it again later (with a manual cuff the second time), and it was back to normal. Blood work, urine sample.
Then I met with my coordinator and a PA that I hadn't met before - I'm still not sure if he was around for the surgery and I just never met him, or if he wasn't even a part of the surgery. He checked my incisions, then consulted with the surgeon, who then came in to meet with me and check my incisions himself. Not really sure what the point of having the PA do it first was...
A couple stitches from under the skin had popped through, but will disintegrate, so the doc just snipped the one that was really sticking out. He said the incisions were looking great. 
So then I started asking all my recovery questions - what specifically can and can't I do? He recommends a 5-pound restriction for the first six weeks, the other surgeons say 10 pounds. Yes, this includes body-weight exercises, like pushups and pullups (which I assumed, but thought I'd ask anyway).
Then they weightlifting conversation began. "Why do you lift weights?"
Uh...what? Because it's good for me. He apparently doesn't think weight lifting is a healthy activity. Whatever. 
I asked if after the 6 weeks, I can start easing my way back into lifting weights or if I should wait longer.
He asked me how much I lift, the PA (who seems much more supportive of strength training) asks, "Are you squatting, like, 130 pounds?"
Yes, or more. Cleaning 100 or more. Deadlifting 200 or more. (Ok, my MAX is over 100/200. Not my regular weight.) :)
"Oh. Well....you don't want to lift that heavy for awhile. If you're dead lifting 200 pounds, you're really putting a lot of stress on that abdominal incision."
The surgeon butts in, apparently hasn't been listening to our conversation before that, "Can you lift that much?"
Well, two weeks ago I could.
"Oh."
Anyway, more questions, more explaining, he lets me know that at 6 weeks post-op I'll have about 70-80% of my abdominal strength back, but it takes at least 6 months for it to get to 100%, so it's risky to lift too much before then. After 6 months, "whatever happens is going to happen." (Which I took to mean, "If you hurt yourself after 6 months, it's because weight lifting is bad for you and you would have hurt yourself anyway.")
I asked a lot of questions, not to be annoying or because I want to push my luck on anything, but so that I can understand exactly how my body will be healing so that I can create a plan. If it takes me a year or more to get back to where I was two weeks ago, that's fine. 
Asked about my kidney function and creatinine levels. He said that all my levels were what they expected, and my coordinator said it seems to take about a year for everything to get to where it'll be long-term. (Specifics about my levels below.)
I forgot to ask him about the nerve damage causing the 'sunburn' feeling on my left thigh. But, the area affected seems to be decreasing already, and my chiro said it can take up to twelve weeks to completely go away. 
I talked to my coordinator about getting all my lab reports and records from my hospital stay. They have a great online chart system, but none of my inpatient info had been posted. I brought a form requesting records, and she said she'd make sure the records office got it. I asked her to make sure I got EVERYTHING, including any surgery notes, nurse's notes, etc. Although I don't know a lot of the medical terminology, I think it's interesting to read and I want to learn about exactly how my surgery went, etc. So hopefully they actually send it all to me. 
Every six months for the next two years, I will get a letter/call from my coordinator reminding me to either visit her at the hospital, or see my primary care provider to get weight, blood pressure, urinalysis, and blood work. The information is kept for the hospital's own statistics, and is also sent to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

So, now for my kidney function levels:

The main blood tests referred to for kidney function are creatinine, BUN, and GFR. Donors should expect their levels to vary after surgery, as the remaining kidney will 'beef up' to take on about 30-50% of the lost kidney function.

BUN: Normal is 7-20. 2/12 (my initial testing) I was at 10, 7/18 (day of surgery) I was at 16, 7/19 I was 16. They either didn't test it today (7/30) or I just can't find it in the lab report. So I've remained normal there.

Creatinine: Normal for adult females is less than 1.2, although more muscle mass may make it a bit higher. 2/12: .8, 7/18: .9, 7/19: 1.3, 7/30: 1.1. So I'm already back to 'normal' for that. 

Estimated GFR: This is essential the percentage of kidney function one has. Normal is 90+, but it's only worrisome below 60. Again, body type plays a role in the numbers. 2/12: 85, 7/18: 74, 7/19: 48, 7/30: 59.

These are the numbers I'll have checked every six months for two years, then yearly. I will never have 85+ GFR again, unless Righty is a super kidney and grows like crazy. But if I stay below 60 (which I doubt I will, since I'm already up to 59), or if my creatinine rises, it's not an automatic sign of an ill kidney. It just means I have one that cannot do the job of two.


After my appointments I stopped in to see Teddy and his mom. He's had some bumps in the road but Sarah says that overall he's doing well. He was talking and singing and dancing and playing the gravity game ("What happens when I drop this over the side of the crib? OH! Mama picks it up and gives it back to me!") Catch up with him at Sarah's blog. 

Today is ten days post-surgery, which means I got to start peeling the glue off my incisions. :) Very exciting. It came off easily on three of my small incisions, but I left it on two of them and on the big one. I'd rather wait til my follow-up on Tuesday to make sure they are healed enough. 

Did you read my post about my alarm not going off the day of transplant? Yeah, I almost slept through the transplant appointment. 
Wednesday night, although you'd think I would be anxious and have a hard time sleeping (and I did tell my husband, "It feels like Christmas Eve, hard to go to sleep!"), I pretty much fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The hotel room had no clock in it, which I found odd. I thought about requesting a wake up call, but decided to just set my phone alarm instead, which I often do. I set it for 4:45, so we could be at the hospital (just a few blocks away) by 5:30. We had everything but the phone chargers and toothbrushes packed up before we went to bed.
I next woke up out of surgery, feeling really good but needing to pee. I kept pushing my call button, waiting for the nurse to come so I could get up to go to the bathroom. I felt great for just coming out of surgery, but geez the nurse was being slow! Finally, I reaching for the button again and I REALLY woke up. 
The room was really dark, so I had no idea what time it was. I grabbed my phone and looked at it, and it said 5:28am. 5:28!!!!! I smacked my husband, yelled, "We gotta go! We gotta go! It's 5:30!" and a lot of swear words. 
All that was running through my head was, "They're going to think I changed my mind! They're going to cancel the transplant!"
I grabbed my hospital papers and called the after-hours number, nearly crying, and explained to the operator that I was going to be late but I was on my way! She transferred me up to the Day of Surgery Admissions desk, where I explained again that I WAS coming, I would just be late. They thanked me for letting them know and said they'd see me soon. 
We grabbed all our stuff (I did get to go pee, but did not brush my teeth...) and ran downstairs to the front desk. We were paying cash for our room, and we weren't sure if my husband would be staying another night or if he'd get a spot in the hospital's discounted on-site 'hotel', but I didn't want to go through all the explanation so I just told them I needed to pay for another night. 
Of course the manager was super slow. Or at least seemed that way in the moment. "Since you're paying cash, tell ya what, I'll give you a better deal for tonight." Which was great, but then took a lifetime for him to change the rate in the computer. 
And then I paid him. And he had to count back the change to me, each coin, each bill, one by one, as slow as possible. I'm about to yell at him to just hurry the f*ck up, but I stay patient. 
I run out to the car where my husband is waiting, and we take off for the hospital. The wrong way. Luckily my husband catches it quickly (I told him the wrong direction), and we get turned around. All I'm thinking is "What kind of asshole sleeps in on transplant day?!" and how everyone is going to be waiting for me and I'm going to make everything delayed and it's all horrible...
We get to the hospital, and it's only 5:50. We rush up to admissions and I say apologetically, "It's me, I called in, we're here, sorry!" The lady looks me up in the computer, gives me a pager, and tells me to have a seat in the waiting room.
So then we waited. And I started feeling better because if if they were all waiting on me and if I ruined everything I wouldn't be in the waiting room.
I was sure my blood pressure would be high when they took me back, but it was "perfect" according to the nurse. 
Between 5:50 when we got to the hospital and 7:15 when they took me to the OR, we spent more time waiting than we did being seen. So I may have overreacted a bit. But I still felt like an asshole.  
I still haven't figured out why the alarm didn't go off, because it was still set. (And I did NOT hit snooze.)
Moral of the story: Request a wake up call. And set five alarms. 

So, I think the gym yesterday, staying up too late last night (even though I had a nap yesterday afternoon), and teaching a class this morning (which consisted of sitting and talking) was too much. I was EXHAUSTED by 11am. Had a good nap after lunch and feeling much better now, though. 

I woke up this morning and decided I NEEDED to go to the gym today. I have been doing a little yoga in the mornings to stretch, but I needed more and I wanted to get out of the house.
So I went this morning and did a dynamic stretching/recovery workout, modified to meet my needs.
It felt so good physically, but especially mentally and emotionally. I had expected it to be more difficult. I only did three of the four rounds, because I was slow and my parking meter was expired (they are quick with the tickets!), but it was a good three rounds. Nothing was painful, or even uncomfortable.
I am eager to get some specific instructions from my surgeon next week so I can plan my 'real' return to the gym. 
The rest of today, however, will be spent napping and watching 30 Rock.

One week after surgery, and I can't decide if it feels like a lot longer, or if it feels like it was just yesterday. When I think about my husband going back to work next week, it feels like it's flown by, but when I think about first getting out of the hospital bed, it feels like forever ago.
 Monday I saw my chiropractor, who said I seem to be doing really well and the incisions were healing up already. I felt good enough to go to a women's group that evening (just sitting and chatting), but had my husband drive me because I wasn't quite up for that yet. It downpoured on us on the way home, so I'm glad he drove.

I feel great. Seriously, really, really great. Well, considering that I'm only five days post surgery. This is about where I expected/hoped to be at two weeks out. My belly is still swollen/bloated, but that is clearly decreasing. I'm a bit sore, but not needing as much Tylenol. I can get up from the couch/out of bed with little problem. I can touch my toes!
Last night I slept 6 hours straight, without needing to adjust my position or pillows. The boys were even able to snuggle with me in bed this morning.
So this is when I have to be extra careful - I'm obviously not healed, my incisions aren't even healed yet, so while I feel good I have to make myself take it easy. If I over-do it I risk an extended recovery time, or developing a hernia. 
So I'm taking time to catch up on my Netflix queue and reading books and magazines. By the way, the movie Super is weird and not what I expected. 

I slept really well last night, I was worried about being comfortable without the hospital bed that can raise up just how I need it. But with pillows in the right spot, I was able to lay comfortably on my back and on both sides. I'm sleeping in our kids' bed, because it's a little lower, and the boys are sleeping in our bed with my husband. They usually come to our bed at some point in the night anyway, and I know right now I can't handle sleeping next to them. 

Some photos I've already posted, but I'm putting them up again so the kidney photos don't show up on people's newsfeeds! :)
Here I am a few hours after surgery on Thursday.

In my own clothes, walking laps Friday morning. Aren't the Ted hose a great fashion statement?

A friend brought me a care package and some yummy gluten-free cupcakes Friday afternoon! It was delicious, but I could only eat half of it.

Docs did rounds this morning and said I was good to go home! We left the hospital right about noon, and made the two hour drive home. It didn't seem too bad at the time, although I was really glad I had a small pillow to press against my stomach because hitting bumps hurt! We only needed to stop once, for a bathroom break and to walk around a bit. 
I had a really good experience at the hospital. The surgeons, fellows, and residents were all great and answered all of my questions. My nurses were really nice and helpful and encouraging. 
A few things I brought to the hospital that got a lot of use: face wipes - it felt really good to at least have a clean face before I was able to get up and get showered. My own clothes. I stayed in the gown until Friday morning, but I was much more comfortable in my own clothes. I wore sweats that are a little big on me, with a stretchy waistband, so it didn't bother my incisions at all. Comfy underwear, sports bra, and tshirt. And flip flops! 
And the pillow for the car - also for when I needed to cough, because that is painful! When I got home I quickly learned that I needed a pillow when I laugh as well.
It was great to be home and see my kids, we had been talking before surgery how my tummy would hurt and they have to be very careful, so when I came in the house they gave me very gentle squeezes - but attacked my husband of course. I think this no-climbing-on-mama thing is going to be hard on them, but we spend time snuggling on the couch tonight so hopefully that'll help. 
The car ride took quite a bit out of me, so I took a three hour nap after we got home. Woke up pretty sore because I was 'behind' on my tylenol, but after getting up and moving around a bit it was better. We spent time snuggling on the couch, my sister brought us dinner, then my kids, my husband, and I went for a short walk up the street and back. 
I know I have a long way to go for full recovery, but I feel like I'm doing really good so far. I am positive it has a lot to do with going to the gym and being in shape; if I had done this before I started working out last year I'm sure I'd be having a much harder time. So if you are considering donating an organ, get started on improving your fitness now!
Teddy's new kidney started working right away, and I hope it continues to work great. You can keep up with him on his mom's blog. 
It still hasn't quite set in yet that I just gave a kidney, I'm wondering if it'll ever feel 'real'.