Back from the Abyss

So,

on 10/11/2007 I had 40% of my left kidney removed. I had been having pain off and on for two years since they had to go in, twice, to remove staghorn calculi in that kidney.

I would like to just say "I told you I was hurting" right now. The surgeon said the kidney was a mess, and he had to fight through a lot of scar tissue to repair and reconstruct the portion of kidney that he saved.

Kidney surgeries are awful. Awful. My c-section was easier to deal with than this. The incision from this laparascopic procedure was longer than the one for my open appendectomy. I am still in quite a bit of pain.

Everyone, be kind to your kidneys. And if you are a person who has ever thrown and landed a kidney punch to someone else, you're an asshole.

I've never dealt with this particular hospital before, Riverside Methodist, and I hope to never have to deal with them again.

Not once, not once, in my entire stay, did anyone ask to see my insurance card or my photo I.D., just verify my name and date of birth. Hmmmm, this rubbed me the wrong way.

Then the first night, I got Mrs Tired-and-Jaded Charge Nurse. They set me up in my room (which was private for some reason) and left me with the door closed....except that my call light didn't work. I didn't find this out until my IV infiltrated (Blew) and my arm began to burn and look pregnant. I called out for help, bashed the call light a million times, then finally called Super G, who called the nurses' station and they finally sent someone in. I was on complete bedrest, and could not get up even if I wanted to.

Then they were unable to get a new on started on me, so they called the IV team, and they took TWO hours to get up to me. At the time my IV infiltrated, I was due for pain meds. I had a drain placed right up against my diaphragm, which was horribly painful with every breath. By the time she got me up and running, I was gasping for breath and crying. I was literally paralyzed with pain. I have never felt so horrid before. I just lay there in the bed, my arms bent out, my mouth open and contorted and completely unable to move. The nurse was in tears with me.

The next day was more of the same pain. Mostly a blur. A friend came to visit, which was nice, and Super G brought Buddy up to see me in the day. Then he brought Bug and Buddy back up at night.

Kids never want to see their parents in the hospital, they only want to go play in the play areas down in the lobby. And eat the cookies left over from mommy's dinner.

And so today they pulled out that drain tube (yet another paralyzing moment) and sent me home. I'm doing better and better, but can't lift Buddy, which he doesn't understand. I was able to give Bug a bath, but then I had to lay down for an hour afterward.

Super G even went to Panera and got me some Broccoli Cheese soup. It took me 2 hours, but I ate it all :-)

So for those who were worried, I'm home, I'm alive and as soon as I've healed up from the surgery, I am looking forward to living pain free......

The prospect of that seems so incomprehensible after what I've gone through in the last 2 years, and it is so enticing too.