Post-Surgery - Day 1

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Tuesday Evening – Post-Surgery

The first few hours of post-surgery are often a funny thing. Kristen was no exception. She asked for her I-Pod while she was still in Recovery… because “it was a bit noisy in here.” As soon as she transferred to her room, my daughters and I almost rolled on the floor laughing at her expressions of excitement and joy from such a simple pleasure as ice.

The only thing that dampened our mood was knowing that Staci didn’t arrive from Recovery until after midnight. Although they told us not to worry, Staci’s blood pressure had been quite low and she was receiving a lot of fluids. When I finally saw Staci in her room about 12:30 AM, she said that she woke up from surgery feeling great!

As the night rolled into morning, both women struggled with a bit of nausea as a result of their pain medications… but pain seemed to be under control.

Wednesday – 24-Hours Post-Surgery

What an amazing day filled with the joy of new life! Kristen’s room seemed more like a florist department than a hospital, though. Starting with the surgeons’ rounds this morning, Dr. Troppmann informed Kristen that her kidney was huge… almost a man-sized kidney! She quipped later, “See… I may be a woman on the outside, but I’m all man inside!!”

Kristen took her first steps about 2:00 pm… a bit painful, more than she expected. Of course, she did so in style as she changed out of her regular hospital gown into an all-pink velcro wrap. She’s thinking about lobbying the hospital to make the change permanent for all women in the transplant wing.

The great news for Staci is that because Kristen’s kidney is working so well, her creatinine level is already 50% less. But it may take a while for her bladder to catch up. The first thing she said to Kristen on the phone this morning was “Girl, I’m peeing like a race horse!”

The day actually went very fast. Kristen had 27 visitors today! Many included friends from Team Donate Life that also work at the hospital. This hospital staff is an incredible and genuinely caring group of people, and we feel so fortunate to be associated with them. I even visited with the transplant nurse, Rex, who took care of my dad and me 5 years ago with our transplant surgeries.

In between visits, we read e-mails of friends, family, and work colleagues with precious words of support and prayers. Kristen’s favorite, of course, was a text message from Staci that said… “Thank you for being used by our Lord as a living sacrifice for me! You have represented Christ well throughout this whole process. I am so proud to share our testimony so that souls and lives can be saved.”

The highlight of the day, though, was when Staci suddenly showed up in Kristen’s room by walking across the transplant wing. After they embraced with hugs, I video-taped them as Kristen got out of bed and walked with Staci back to her room. It’s truly incredible to reflect that these two friends were total strangers until last Thanksgiving Day when a single phone call changed both of their lives forever. Staci now calls Kristen her “kidney sister.”

Today was a great day… and we lift our hearts to God in thankfulness and amazement toward the way He works in our lives and provides for our needs! Kristen is so grateful to be part of Staci’s healing… and we are hopeful that Kristen can go home by tomorrow evening. Staci will remain until Saturday as they continue monitoring for any signs of rejection and proper medication levels.

Posted by Jason Weckworth