my experience

i wanted to take the time to write about my experience going through the surgery:

i got to new york Presbyterian around 9:30am. i was signed in immediately and ushered with my parents down to another waiting room. there, we met up with my recipient and his girlfriend. within seconds, i was asked to come and get dressed. so i left for a brief period of time and instructed to put on typical hospital material pants, revealing gown, a robe and some booties. looking like a "real" patient now, i was able to go sit with my parents again, where i held my mom's hand almost the entire time. NBC showed up and encouraged us to simply talk normally, so we did while they taped us. maybe 5 minutes later, i was asked to leave again with another nurse. as i entered the hallway, my (as previously stated, cute) surgeon was there. he said good morning and high-fived me. then i went into another room to have my blood pressure taken (120/69!! so calm!!), my temperature taken, some preliminary questions answered, etc.

by 10:15 i was called by a nurse to head to the OR. i kissed my parents, my recipient and his girlfriend goodbye and started my walk into the OR. for purposes of the news, NBC taped us (me and the nurse) walking as we headed for the OR. she explained to me that i would have an IV put in then, they would give me anesthesia, and the procedure would last about 3 hours. once we got to our operating room (they had 15 different rooms!!), my two anesthesiologists came out and asked me if i had ever had a reaction to anesthesia before. they continued on explaining what would happen: i'd get in the OR, lay on the table, have an IV inserted, be given a little anesthesia to calm me down (although i wasn't nervous at all). a few moments later, i walked into the OR. it was a typical OR: white, metal and very large. i got on the table, arms laid out to form a "T" with my body. everyone who came into the OR to introduce themselves (doctor assistants, anesthesiologists, nurses, etc) to me were in awe of my donation, especially to a total stranger. at the same time, one of the anesthesiologists inserted an IV into the top of my right hand (ouch!!) and to be honest, i don't remember anything after that. usually, they have you count backwards from 10 until you fall asleep (most people don't get past saying 10, haha), but i don't even remember that.

next thing i knew, i was awake, still in the OR. my upper left shoulder was killing me. it hurt so bad, i wanted to cry, but i couldn't because i was in so much pain. someone to my right said that i could get more pain medication in the recovery room because they had no more in the OR. there was a male standing next to me on my left and i begged him to massage my shoulder, so he did. again, my memory gets lost here, but the next thing i remember is being in the recovery room in pain. i kept begging my nurse to let me see my mom and for more pain meds. she kept saying, "one more minute." after what seemed like hours, i couldn't help it. it took all my strength, but i burst into tears. well, as close to crying as i could get. i was shaking and tears were falling from my cheeks. i was in so much pain, i couldn't even form words. eventually, she saw me and immediately brought over some morphine. within a few moments of her inserting it into my IV, most of the pain subsided and i was able to control myself again. shortly after, i over heard some nurses talking as they brought in my recipient: "56 year old male, just received a kidney transplant..." i knew it was him. again, i begged my nurse to let my mom and dad come see me and since she felt bad for ignoring me before, she was happy to meet my request. as soon as my mom rounded the corner, i put on my biggest smile and tried to push back the pain. she looked so worried and concerned. "i am so proud of you," is the first thing she said to me. it was quickly followed with, "why is your face so swollen??" i hadn't noticed, but i guess my face was so puffy, you couldn't even distinguish my neck from my face. the nurse assured my mom it was just a reaction to the anesthesia and the amount fluids i was receiving intravenously and it would go away shortly. after waiting in the recovery room for about another hour, there was finally a bed open that they could transfer me to. my parents came with me and we all went upstairs to Baker 15, the floor i was on.

by now, it was 5pm and i shimmied my way into my much more comfortable hospital bed. air pressurized booties were on my feet, every 30 seconds or so, they'd fill up with air and massage my feet. additionally, my bed did the same thing, but just not as often (bummer). slowly but surely, i was able to keep my of my liquids down (i kept getting nauseous from the pain meds) and by the end of the night, i was eating applesauce!!

the first night was long: nurses kept coming in to check my vitals and administer pain medication. luckily, i was on the private floor and my mom was able to sleep there with me. also, there were no set visitation hours, so my dad came early in the morning and left late every night. my roommate and best friend from college came (and brought a cake, at my request, for my parents 31st wedding anniversary, july 16th) and stayed as long as they wanted. by the time i left the hospital (thursday afternoon), my room was filled with flowers and cards. all the nurses i made friends with came to wish me luck and say good bye. i left them thank you cards (and leftover cake) because they took such good care of me.

sorry for the long entry, but i figured everyone would be wondering what i experience while in the hospital. in a nutshell, the first hour or so after surgery was very very very very painful, but afterwards, it was do-able. i can't type anymore-- it took so much energy to type this much, but if i think of any other significant thing i should add, i'll blog it later : )

wow, i need a rest : )