OK, so here it is.
As of yesterday afternoon, I'm back on dialysis.
My transplanted kidney is no longer functioning at a level to sustain me, so I'm back on the machine.
I just got home from a 4 day stay in the Kaiser ICU (they always seem to overreact with the ICU thing!)
I got a phone call on Friday afternoon that I needed a blood transfusion; my hematocrit and iron levels were dangerously low... I put it off, in my usual fashion, until Sunday morning, when I just couldn't deal any more.
Cynthia came over and kept Max, and Jamie took me to the ER in Fremont to get the transfusion.
Of course, nothing is ever as simple as just that, and it was decided, in rather short order, that I needed to be admitted to start6 dialysis ASAP.
I was transferred via ambulance to Kaiser in Hayward, where I had a subclavial perma-cath placed and dialysis began.
(For those who were around at the beginning of my saga, it's the tubes hanging out of my neck near my collarbone)
I will be dialyzing three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 5 to 8 pm in Walnut Creek for the next few months... I am going to switch back to PD (peritoneal dialsysis that I can do at home) just as soon as I can, but there is a surgery that needs to happen first, so in the meantime, I'm stuck in the clinic.
So that's all the news for now... I WILL be getting back on the transplant list soon, but it's still a 5-7 year wait.
I WILL be having volunteers tested to donate, if you're willing. I'm not asking, but I will take you up on your offer, should you feel compelled to make it.
To preemptively asnwer a couple of questions; yes, it's true... we had hoped the kidney from my mom would last longer than four years... it didn't. Yes, my (new) kidney failure was exacerbated by my pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. No, we don't regret doing the transplant when we did. Jamie and I got four amazing years... we bought our house and remodeled the kitchen, took roadtrips, got married, went to Europe and had a baby. Nope, I don't think I could ever say I regret getting the transplant when I did.
Anyway, that's all there is for now... as always, your thoughts and prayers are welcomed!
