Medications

 

Medications I’m on I have a huge pill box now…

This is my breakfast pills now.. that’s after my antirejection meds I take at 6 am (4 pills of one kind and 6 pills of another) adjusted as needed… then 4 more at 6 pm and several more at bedtime… I cannot believe I have to take this many pills now!

Side effects that I am having from the medications …. Hmmm

I have a tremor where my hands shake so much… my heart races at any time even if I’m just sleeping so they are saying I have tachycardia now… the prednisone has created a hungry monster inside of me… I went from having no appetite before surgery to I’m so hungry all the time now… and I a,so went from being wrapped in sweaters cardigans and blankets before surgery to sooo hot now.. I literally wake up at night soaked in sweat… during the day I’m begging for the fan to be on or I go outside in the winter weather to cool down.. hilarious!  The other issue is my liver is not happy but the doctor said the numbers are tending down so it’s just going to take some time for my body to adjust to the meds..

My creatinine level is still amazing 78 and my GFR is 82… to compare to before my surgery my creatinine was 428. GFR was 11.. GFR is kidney function percentage so it’s a significant important change.

Day 5

 Woke up thinking I was going home today but sadly that was not the case… they told me in the morning that they didn’t feel they could send me home with diarrhea.. I mean what are you going to do if I stay… nothing then let me go home… the doctor came in and said she couldn’t do it… I almost cried I want to leave…yes  I am done,.. I don’t know how many more days I can stay here…

I was sitting in my room in the morning looking out the window and there was a lot of activity in the room next to me.. the lady who had been screaming all night and all day all weekend finally her family came and they were moving her to the ICU…  finally I thought I hope and pray she gets some peace and gets the meds to help with her pain… she is clearly suffering… then about 2 hours later they were back the family who was soo concerned were gone and they wheeled her back into the room and hooked her up to the machines I could hear the beeping of the heart monitor…  then all of sudden I heard the heart monitor stop beeping just one long beep… omg 😳 the door was shut and all I could hear was omg and a ton of people running  with a crash cart.. the announcements I had gotten used to Code BLUE…EXCEPT THIS WAS IN THE ROOM NEXT TO ME!  I heard it all.. I hear the doctors talking about what to do and what meds to push and clear as they tried to resuscitate her… I hear them all leave and the doctors had a full conversation in front of my room but I thought she survived… the nurse came to see me after she clearly knew I had heard everything was just checking on me and I asked how the lady was.. she didn’t make it unfortunately… aww I’m so sorry I said she was in so much pain and was clearly suffering I hope she found peace.  The whole situation was surreal…. I was actually very grateful to a work friend who called me and was able to speak with me for a while it kept my mind off what was going on.. I was so touched by th outpouring of love I received from my friends and family… it’s nice to know you have people you can count on…

Several hours later…the nephrologist came in and asked me if I would feel comfortable if she sent me home… Yes! OMG YES!

Next step was remove the PICC line … I was terrified to have it removed…  it to be honest it was nothing… the worst part was that my anesthesiologist stitched it in too tight so the nurse had to call for help to get it snipped… it meant several nurses and a cell phone light and a little patience but they finally were able to get the stitches out… then deep breath and they pulled it out!  Yes the nurse knew me well and said would you like to take a picture!?  YES!  

This is the PICC line that was inside me.. who knew it was that big!?

FREEDOM FROM THE PICC LINE!  Now onto bed rest for a bit…

After meeting with all the doctors and pharmacist they agreed to discharge me!  The first problem was they sent the list of meds to my pharmacy 3 days ago and haven’t heard anything back yet… so they final,y got in touch with them and surprise their systems have been down for 3 days!  Well they can’t send me home without my meds especially my antirejection ones so now we need to fill the meds at the hospital pharmacy so I had to get the insurance cards and my sister who is bringing me home needs to pick them up by a certain time… hurry up and rush rush… 

She arrived meds in hand and got me a wheelchair..that holds ho to 800lbs which was an ongoing joke with us considering how swollen I was.. I couldn’t even put on my shoes my feet were

so swollen I had to go home in slippers!  

Goodbye to this unit!

I texted my hubby… he had packed my going home shirt…which belongs to him..   we speak through our shirts.. lol. Mine says FREEDOM…. I have a whole binder to read through and I have to update how much I drink and how much urine (yes I have to measure it) I also have to record all my medications and my vitals… it’s like a full time job..

HE TEXTED ME BACJ THIS PICTURE… my lonely boy…

To say I was excited to come home and see him is the understatement of the year.. I haven’t hugged him or touched him since before surgery.. even when he came to see me when he left he kept his distance to protect me… the second I came home I just wanted to hug him and sit in my chair.. and be home!

Here I am in my chair with the gift my company sent me… in my happy place with my husband and chocolate covered strawberries!

Day 4

 Started the day with getting my catheter removed!  Hooray!!  Still needed a bunch of infusions so the picc line and IV weren’t coming out yet but catheter was a good start! 🙌 

Walked even faster to the scale early in the morning… and my day was filled with visits from doctors and nurses and specialists.. an allergist and even physiotherapist.

The meeting with th allergist was because of my allergy to Sulpha they want me to go on the drug as part of my medication however I have been allergic for over 30 years… he came into my room with such a chip on his shoulder I instantly had my back up.. he was mad I couldn’t remember every moment from the time 30 years ago when I went to the hospital with my allergic reaction… I remembered having hives on my neck and mistakenly said throat he quickly cut me off to explain the difference between throat and neck.. and did you stay overnight… what medication did they give you how long were you there what did they diagnose with you?  The o my thing I remembered was an IV and being told from now on it will be in my records I’m allergic to Sulpha.. and that is what I have said for 30 years.. well I think you have outgrown it so we are going to try you on it anyways.. we will start with 1/8th of a pill and need you to do it in the hospital so you are monitored… ok sure I said.

Next was the physiotherapist.. she came in the room saw me in the chair and said oh this is going to be fun..  are you ready for the stair test… she didn’t want me to go home until I could show that I can manage the stairs because my house has many stairs to get up to the second floor…where the bedroom is.  I was very confident I could do it,,,  so we got to the stairs and she said ok slowly take your hand and grab the railing then out one foot up and then bring the other foot up to the same step and slide your hand on the railing and one foot to the next step and then continue.  I put one hand on the railing and the one step one foot then the next and so on she was laughing and said great job… ok come on down slowly.. I did the same coming down she shook my hand and said yes you passed with flying colours!  You did a great job!  I laughed and said thanks one more thing checked off my list!  I can see the discharge papers already!!!

I met with the pharmacist and the social worker and those were great meetings as well.. I really did appreciate the people co,ing in and meeting with me and going through everything with me…

Tomorrow I am going home!  I was sure of it! 🙌

FIRST CATHETER IS OUT NEXT STOP PICC LINE!

Day 3

 Day 3….. woke up feeling a bit sick but determined I will get out of bed and walk to get weighed… all by myself I know I can do it… I somehow found the strength to pull out the plug out of the wall and walked to the weighing station… it felt like the longest walk but I made it!  I was so proud of myself the nurses were all huddled having a meeting so I stepped up and the scale said error.. of course it did!  I stepped off and stepped back on still error.. and I did that about 5 more times.. I was so mad I waddled over to the nurses and interrupted them I felt so embarrassed she came over turned it off and on again… and it worked!  Reminded me of IT CROWD and I laughed at myself… my husband would have laughed….

https://youtu.be/rksCTVFtjM4

I walked back to my room with my catheter and my IV bags in tow and got back…and sat in my chair… my new thing is once I’m up and at ‘em I stay up no going back to bed.. that won’t help… I have convinced myself… that’s a fact.

Today was a special day…. I was having a visitor!!  My sister was coming!  One of the hardest things for me was the days were so long and lonely… the nurses were great but they were not family.

Had a great visit with my sister we talked and laughed and she got to witness  the noises coming from my neighbor in the room beside me screaming and crying 8n pain all day and night and the other lady down the hall cursing out the nurses… I really was grateful she came and she stayed just long enough that once she was gone I missed her already!  Ha Ha! 

I was still on liquid diet due to my lovely explosive diarrhea and now they decided they wanted to test it… what a horrible task for the nurses.. I had to collect it in the hat and then they would collect it… I warned them there really wasn’t something to “test” it was mostly liquid but ok they want to test it… 🤦‍♀️  so they sent it for testing to make sure nothing was wrong…  by now I had figured out the drugs I take every day but liquid diet…I wanted FOOD!

They got the results back and I was able to get FOOD FOR DINNER!  At this point I didn’t care what it was I was hungry….

Here is the difference between food and liquid diet… as you can see I got a pot pie and potatoes .. I have not eaten potatoes in YEARS!  So this was a real treat!

I enjoyed it way more than you can imagine!

That night I slept so well… I was full and even though the diarrhea didn’t go away it was still worth it… there was talk about sending me home on day 5 so I was still working towards that goal.. whatever they hoop they need me to jump through I will do I wasn’t sleeping well because the patients are maiming and screaming in pain all night or cursing out the nurses all hours of the night.. how do you sleep with that?  My patience was wearing thin and my sanity too…

Day 2

My second day was interesting…. Towards the end of day 1 started bleeding… I had a catheter in and when I stood up there was blood…. This was the first and only time I have called the nurse..I try so hard not to a pain to the nurses… but I didn’t know if my incision opened or something happened with the catheter…she came in and looked at me and said ok I have good news and I have bad news…it’s not your incision and it’s not th catheter… this happens to a lot of patients when they get a new kidney… your body resets… let me guess you weren’t having regular periods before right..?  Yup couple times a year… ok well those days are over.. and it started TODAY… OMG so now I had to wear these ugly short shorts and and a hospital mattress pad… lovely.. so I’m embarrassed and humiliated but I figured hey it’s a good sign.  Then day 2 came… I woke up feeling sick from the medications but now I have a new fun treat… violent diarrhea.. you know what is hard after surgery.. bending and sitting and running to the bathroom when you are connected to wires…AND THEN getting there barely in time and you can’t get these stupid short shorts down in time and blow it EVERYWHERE…  think the Hall Pass scene… 

but it goes everywhere instead because the pad is stuck and you didn’t grab it in time… to say I wanted to cry is not even close to the word …remember how I said I don’t like being a pain for the nurses.. well in my humiliation I decided to clean the bathroom the best I could myself… think walls, floor, commode, toilet… I was more upset they don’t keep cleaning supplies in the bathroom..  so it was wipes and soap and water… I was pretty proud of myself for how clean I got it considering I could barely move or bend and somehow managed.  The next chance I had I mentioned it to the nurse and she was shocked that I did that… diarrhea another side effect to this medication… I would run to the bathroom so frequently and i was only having a liquid diet anyways so this meant no food… what a great start… eventually around day 3 I was out in solid food but the diarrhea continued for almost 3 weeks.  They also started me on infusions daily.. I had phosphorus and iron and magnesium and potassium all those numbers were low so we needed to boost this numbers.  So many infusions… so glad for the picc line!

A few weeks before the surgery we had a meeting with the nephrologist… in my life things rarely go the way they should so I was literally waiting for the next shoe to drop…I can always sense it coming….the moment we were in the room with him I could feel something was wrong… eventually he said ok so we have a small situation… as you know your husband wasn’t a match due to antibodies and the new donor is a match because he has small amount of antibodies…  now years ago we wouldn’t be able to see things and the degree of the antibodies.. however now we see degrees and we can see that he has some antibodies that may lead to issues later in your life… so we have had meetings  and discussions with the transplant board and it’s basically 50% so the decision is up to you.  You can cancel the surgery and wait or we can go ahead but monitor you much more closely we will run tests to monitor the situation we may need to do plasmaferesis at some point.. and while in the hospital we are going to dose you with some ATG as well.  So I looked at my husband and he looked at me… and the doctor said ok while I’m here you 2 discuss it… married almost 25 years we really know each other very well… I said to him ok what’s your though he said I think we take the chance you will be monitored and science is advancing so in 10-15 years time alot of things can change…. I laughed… and said exactly my thoughts… the doctor kind of laughed and said wow you two are on the same page huh?  Yup decision made we will go ahead with it.  So on day 2 they started the ATG infusions… to say they made me feel sick would be an understatement… the first one I just felt off but then I was getting it daily and they eventually had to slow it down it was making me sick going through too fast… I had those infusions daily right till the day I left.. it gave me the shakes so bad I would sit there and just shake for the infusion and pray I wasn’t gonna throw up.

 

I spent another good 8-10 hours sitting in the chair and walking  around my room… not really one to walk the unit… but I would do laps in my room… and no not just to the bathroom and back lol!

This was more difficult because of the amount of weight I was putting on from the swelling in my legs and hands and feet…I took out my hair from the braids and I looked like a crazy wild lady lol then I braided them back again after my sponge bath… nothing feels better than feeling clean and having a sponge bath.. I had an amazing nurse who helped me I was so grateful to her… I just felt so disgusting so to change and wash up was a real treat for me.  Beside the not feeling so great the hardest part of being I the hospital was the loneliness… I would call my husband to FaceTime with him but he would be napping or just not be in the mood to chat so it was weird for me… eventually I got Netflix running on my iPad and would watch some mindless tv…but it was more to drown out the other patients who would scream in pain all day and night and swear at the nurses… I felt so bad for the nurses in the unit they were really being abused…  another reason I went out of my way to be kind and patient… a patient patient..

My poor hubby looks so swollen and sore… he will always be my hero!

It’s Kidney Transplant Time!

 Update…. In my life numbers have always meant something to me… the 15th, the 12th are our numbers… both our birthdays are on the 15th of the month and the 12th… well we got married on the 12th and we have always loved that number so when we finally got the call that we had a match for the kidneys and the potential dates were the 12th, 19th or 26th we just knew it would be the 12th….. we took it as a posisigne for us.  It is our number after all!  We got the call and the surgery wa scheduled for the 12th and we were so excited and also a little scared… my husband would have the surgery early in the morning if the 12th and my surgery would be ,ate that night… I would be admitted the day before so they could start me on iv and run tests etc but he would come in the next morning.  Now to figure out who would take him to the hospital… he decided one day while sitting in the car to reach out to my sister and ask her to take him after he had thought about asking a coworker/friend to take him… my only concern was that if I wasn’t allowed to be there with him that someone would be there with him and would stay with him until he went in… so his choice of asking my sister was the best decision he could have ever made!  I know of anyone in our lives that she is probably the ONE AND ONLY person we could count on.  She would also have him in great spirits and laughing to keep his mind off everything as well.  

We went for pre-op on the 10th together but separate and had our very first COVID tests and met our anesthesiologists… I saw a different one than he did but he came with me in mine.  I don’t know how to explain how surreal this whole situation is… I am getting a new kidney from a stranger and my husband is donating his kidney to a stranger… my emotions are raw and the whole situation has been odd.. the second I sat in the room with the man we just bonded… I know a little about surgery and I know that surgeons are amazing but the anesthesiologist literally holds your life in his hands so I felt instantly comfortable with him.  Yes he is good looking but his personality was just wonderful even my husband liked him.. he joked with me and was the calming influence I needed.. he really made me feel like he understood me and my concerns.  More on that later…

The day I went into the hospital and was admitted I was a ball of nerves.. first of all preop sent us to the wrong place so we were late checking in because they sent me to level 0… even highlighted it on the map how to get there… and where we actually needed to be was the other side of the hospital on level 7!  Eventually we made our way there and it was a locked unit… I felt so uncomfortable and like I didn’t belong but we went in together and handed in our paperwork and they lead me to a room down the hall… the room I was in I was sharing with a man… I sat on the bed and hubby sat on the chair and we put my stuff away in the closet. 

Then they came in and said make yourself comfortable and they would bring dinner in eventually but that would be the last food until after surgery… odd I thought that would mean no food for over 24 hours but I also get really sick from the aesthetic so maybe that’s why… we were in the room maybe 5 minutes and the man beside me started moaning in pain and then his call to prayer went off… to say I felt uncl Would be the understatement of the year… I have to share a bathroom with this man and they want me to “empty” with him right beside the bathroom… 🤦‍♀️. The call to prayer was about 5 minutes long and he slept through it mostly moaning in pain… as a Christian I wasn’t bothered by it too much I can respect the need for prayer but I found it strange he didn’t turn it off… I didn’t complain because if it helps him feel better than it’s worth it… the calls he took at 3am however I was less impressed… I don’t think he knew the time of day but people are calling his cell at that time too! 🤦‍♀️

my husband lasted about an hour sitting there with me… he had to go home and finish packing and get himself ready to come back the next morning for his surgery so he apologized to me and said he had to go… I get it it’s hard being there but when he went to say goodbye to me and hugged me we both started crying tears just streamed down my face it was so hard saying goodbye to him… I had bought him a little something and told him to open it up later.  This man is literally saving my life and sacrificing a piece of himself to do it he will always be my hero.  

He took the satchel with the gift inside and left then when he got to the car he texted me and said I was wrong the Covid test was not the hardest part… leaving you was.  Funny enough I felt the same way I hated he left me there alone I sat there in my bed alone and cried I was so alone and terrified and felt like I was in the wrong place… the nurse came in and spoke with me and said dinner would come soon and told me what would happened tomorrow.. they said I didn’t need to get into a gown that night and I could sleep in my trackpants and tshirt so I was grateful for that at least… dinner came and it was meatloaf and I wasn’t really hungry I just wanted to lay down and cry… I didn’t know if I was supposed to remove my mask or not so I never took it off.. I slept with it on… the next morning I was woken up with blood work and vitals and then breakfast came…I didn’t touch it because I wasn’t sure if it was a mistake!  The nurse came in to check on me and I asked and they said yes I could eat it but nothing else that day. I ate some cereal and a piece of cheese but I wasn’t hungry.. my husband was downstairs at the hospital with my sister and they were getting him ready for surgery… I had hoped to FaceTime with him but it was so fast he arrived they took him back he got into his gown and then he had the iv put in and he was gone… those 4 hours were the longest 4 hours of my life… I was waiting anxiously to hear how he was then finally I heard from my family who got the call that he was out and in recovery and doing ok… he was just sick from the anesthesia but everything went well!  I was hoping to talk to him before my surgery but at least I heard he was ok.  Eventually I got my IV and changed into my gown and was ready.   A lady appeared at my door on a knee scooter and I realized she was the chaplain!  I had wanted a blessing from my minister but he was on vacation and I didn’t get one nor did I tell my church about the surgery so I was so glad she came to visiting me.  We had a lovely visit she prayed with me and gave me a lovely prayer to read… it helped calm me down a little my nerves were going crazy.. the call to prayer from my neighbor kept going off all day and he screamed and moaned in pain… he woke up in the middle of the night talking and making cell phone calls art 3am he was quite out of it and I needed peace so much.  Eventually after what felt like being an hour after they originslky said they would be coming to get me they came to get me with the gurney and I laid in it thinking ok here we go… I can do this… I texted my husband saying goodbye and I love you see you on the other side…get some rest.. and off we went I was shaking and they gave me some warm blankets and I watched as the ceiling tiles flashed above me down the long corridors to the elevators… and then her cell phone rang.. Omg 😱 this is it it’s cancelled something is wrong with the kidney all the negative thoughts flooded my head… I only  heard one side of the conversation but it was clear something was wrong..she came over stood beside me and said I’m really sorry to tell you this but you have been bumped and emergency just came in so we need to take you back… can a kidney stay on ice for long?  It came from another province so what does that mean!?  Ok back we went I watched all the ceiling tiles flash by in reverse and then we got back to my room I hopped down and went back to the bed… I texted my hubby to tell him and to my surprise he responded!  I also let my sister know because this would mean a delay… and I waited I waited about 30 mins and they came back… this time however my nerves were shot… I was sitting in the bed second guessing the surgery I don’t want it I thought I changed my mind it’s a sign it’s not going to work… catastrophic thinking… now when we got to the elevator I was shaking so badly I was t sure if it was I was cold or having a seizure… they pushed me in front of the OR doors and parked me and out of the OR came my anaesthesiologist!  The one I had bonded with… he was on call and he was going to be mine…. The second I saw him I burst into tears saying omg thank God it’s you!  I’m not usually a weepy person but I literally fell apart he started petting me and saying it’s ok you are going to be ok… let me get you some heated blankets you are shaking…. he was so calming and then he said just a few more minutes and I am going to take you on a magical mystery tour… I’m going to take care of you don’t worry.  I’m not sure why but it helped… he held my hand and said ok are you ready?  I said I was and they wheeled me in… I have been in ORs before but this one was huge!  And there in the corner of the room was my surgeon and another doctor working on the kidney… they were sewing it I was amazed… I like medical stuff so that also seemed to calm me down he waved to me and said here it is!  Then I had to hop over from one gurney to another and of course the gown didn’t have snaps so that was a whole thing but once I got on the gurney it was a well oiled machine… magical mystery tour time.. he put in another IV and strapped on the blood pressure cuff and heart monitor and he said o I’m making a mess you are bleeding down your arm..I laughed and said no worries you do whatever you need I’m in your hands..  it didn’t take long to be all ready and then the surgeon and the doctor came and spoke to me for a few seconds and then they took off my mask and out on the other one… been there done that before… I know count to 10 and youre out but in my mind for some reason I didn’t want to count… I started praying out loud… and he said are you praying for us?  Ok you do what you need to do sweetheart next thing is you will be awake and it’s all over and that’s the last thing I remember… the next memory I have is being bent over getting an X-ray and vomiting everywhere and them saying o no she is vomiting again… I didn’t even open my eyes I just remember that..then an ultrasound and again she is vomiting didn’t open my eyes… then I woke up in a hospital room the next morning…. Of course vomiting… and shaking and the nurse was there helping me.  They said I’m sorry we need to flip you and give you a suppository you just keep vomiting… I couldn’t move and was grateful if that would help… I had a catheter in and a picc line and heart monitor and blood pressure cuff I had so many wires it hurt to move,,, I fell back asleep for a while and when I woke up I didn’t know where I was…. I was suddenly aware I was in a different room than the one I left and I had no idea where my phone was or anything and I was told I was on bed rest and couldn’t really move… the strangest thing was I knew I had major surgery but I really didn’t have any pain.. more of a dull ache in my side…. The nurse came and offered me something for pain and I declined im ok I don’t need anything… are you sure.. yes I’m sure.  I remember the last surgery I had they gave me morphine and I was talking to people who weren’t there and I wanted off it the next day so I think a big part of me was thinking no I don’t want that again… but also my body has been through trauma before so it was manageable.  But day 1 was rough from the nausea and vomiting..

When they came in later in the morning to change my urine bag and give me infusions I asked if they knew wheee my online was… and she passed it to me.  I finally was able to reach out to my husband and see him through FaceTime… he was really sick vomiting and he had not gotten out of bed yet.  He was really happy they were going to remove his catheter and he could put on underwear but he also had not stepped foot out of the bed yet… no one had come to see him or help him which I found odd.. he had to call a nurse to help with the vomit and that was hard..one took a look at him and said she would send someone in to help him… and it took a while..  poor guy.  Meanwhile I was about to be released from bed rest and I had to walk to scale if I could… physiotherapist came in and showed me how to get in and out of bed and asked if I felt I could walk… sure I said… let’s do it!  I got out of bed grabbed my pole with all my wires and started the long slow trek down the corridor to the scale… they had warned me that they push iv fluids through 24 hours a day so I will retain water and I will swell… I could gain as much as 20kg during my stay but the kidneys will do their job and clear it… the walk back I picked up the pace a bit and she was surprised.. here let me get you back into bed she said… I said actually can I just sit in the chair by the window instead?  I don’t want to be in bed… I thought let’s make an effort so they send me home sooner… 😂. So I sat in my chair and looked out the window and they would come and take blood and hook up infusions and change the urine bag I was peeing sooo much I was keeping them hopping… all good signs.  Then my husband texted me I just got my discharge papers they are sending me home… WHAT!?  I guess they need the bed they came I said I was discharged your sister is coming to get me… now I know that there is no way they should be sending him home… and home to an empty house on top… but my husband isn’t going to question it… so I said on your way out stop by my room… he was in a completely different building than I was but I really just wanted to see him so badly.  I was also very lonely…. It was strange.. a few hours later there at my door was my husband in a wheelchair being pushed my sister…. He looked better than I expected I just wanted to hug him so badly but neither of us was going to do that he was protecting me from any disease because i had no immunity.. it was a rather short visit but I was grateful… we took a picture of us together but apart and then he was in his way home… I worried he would be in his own at home but I know he is stubborn and would be ok.

Shortly after my hubby left the surgeon came to check on me… he said ummm where is your hubby I went to visit him and he was gone… did he have a prior obligation?  Umm no they kicked him out saying he was cleared to go home… the look on his face told me that he certainly didn’t agree he said no he should not have gone home especially how sick he was this morning…. I agreed but it’s too late he is there now… he said both our surgeries went well and I’m making lots of urine which was a fantastic sign!

The fist day I sat on that chair for over 12 hours… I wanted to prove to myself I could do it… I had dedicated nurse that was just so impressed I could do that the next day and with no meds for pain… but eventually I did get back in bed… that night and tried to sleep.. I am a side sleeper and I couldn’t sleep on either side between the wires and incision it was a rough night… then the other patients would just scream in pain all night… they would curse out the nurses because they wouldn’t give them anything for the pain and they were nasty… I’m in a renal transplant unit so I worried is this going to be me?  Maybe day 1 was just a fluke..?

I would try to FaceTime with hubby at night but he was in pain and wasn’t taking the dilaudin they sent him home with so he wss miserable and didn’t really want to chat and my pic line coming out of my neck bothered him… so really it was lonely… there were ourptbresks of Covid and VRE in the unit so no visors were allowed anyways.. I would just put on Netflix on my iPad and watch some shows.. eventually I fell asleep but rhe nurses were coming and going all night as well so I would t say it was restful sleep…

Day 2 I was woken up by a new nurse at 6am.. the picc line was great they would push the fluids from there and take blood from there….the picc line was my biggest concern but it was honestly a Godesnd!