The New Normal

Today Marty took me to my local Kaiser lab to draw blood.  Thursday I will check in at UCSF for another blood draw and to meet with my post-transplant nurse practitioner.  My medications will be adjusted based on the lab results.  So far the side effects have been mild.  But tracking what I take and when is a bit overwhelming.  Here’s my medication list.

I’ve got alarms going off throughout the day to remind of my pills and my trips to the bathroom.   I empty even when I don’t feel like it because I have to keep my bladder small so not to put pressure on the sutures while they heal.

My immuno-suppressive meds make me very susceptible now to infections and put me at higher risk of cancer, especially skin cancer.  So now I lather on the sunscreen, wear a hat and long sleeves.  I even ordered an anti-UV umbrella on Amazon.

We also went shopping to stock up on disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizers, lip balm with SPF, and paper towels.  I’ve been instructed to keep walking which is good for my healing.  I move like a snail which is fine when you’ve got all day.  My job now pretty much is to eat, sleep, pee and get used to walking again. It’s like taking care of a baby all over again.

The kidney names are still coming in.  They’re creative and original and hilarious.  Some of you guys are having too much fun with this.  Laughing has been good for my soul, but not so much my sore abs.  I’ll have a winner by the end of the week.

Thanks again for all your blog comments, FB posts and notes that keep coming in. Wish I could hug you all but I’ve got to lay low.