Life On The "T" List...: July 5, 2011

Thirty days…four weeks…one month…that is how long it has been since I received Tommy’s kidney – one month today.

Wow, that month went by really quick, and for the most part with virtually no issues to speak of – except for one very annoying one…that feeling like I have a UTI brewing. Well, as it turns out, it may be nothing more than the stent that was put in irritating my bladder. In fact, I just got off the phone with the transplant coordinator because I had an awful weekend.

Over the course of the last few weeks, if I had experienced these UTI-like symptoms, it would last no more than a day. This past weekend was a little different…Saturday was hell on earth – pain when urinating, burning, going frequently (or thinking I had to go), and then just producing little dribbles of pee – very frustrating. While all of this was happening, I was feeling a pain by the incision site, and in my mind I immediately went to: “Oh shit, I have a hernia.” And this pain actually seemed to be getting worse by the day as soon as I had the staples removed, which was last Tuesday. And thank God they came out when they did, because I was ready to pull them out myself – I just wanted them out…and it felt so good once they were out.

Sunday was not much different, only this time I was seeing some blood in my pee. Believe it or not, I didn’t get too freaked out about the blood because I was told by one of my nurses before I left the hospital that I may see some blood and that is typically normal during the first eight weeks after the transplant. She also said that even a drop or two of blood can make the pee look a lot worse than it actually is.

Monday comes and during the first part of the day, I am again having many of the same symptom, but towards the afternoon they start to subside a bit…all except for the pain by my incision site. So, then I decided to leave my transplant coordinator a message detailing my weekend.

When she calls me back this morning, she explained to me that what I am most likely experiencing is a severe irritation of the stent on my bladder…continuing she says, “it doesn’t happen often, but it can happen.” She then said that since I just hit the four week mark, my surgeon may elect to have the stent removed earlier then what it is now scheduled for (the 21^st).

Thankfully, I have a scheduled appointment with the surgeon this Thursday – here’s hoping he will confirm that this is not a hernia, but in fact the stent, and I will be able to go on and live a pain-free life as soon this thing can be taken out!