Three Weeks Later...

Well, it's now three weeks after the surgery and both the recipient and I are doing well and recovering quickly.  I talked to Manu this week and he sounded good - upbeat and positive.  In the second week after the surgery, there was a bit of a concern for him because his creatine levels were creeping up past the normal 120 (his had crept up to 130 then 150).  The doctors did a few tests - X-rays of the new kidney, blood tests, biopsy, etc - to see if there was perhaps something wrong with the kidney (yes, the super-bionic kidney).  But they found nothing of concern.

So it possibly could be the anti-rejection medication that all recipients must take to keep their bodies from rejecting the 'foreign' transplanted organ.  The doctors normally must give the recipient varying doses of this medication until they find a dose that keeps his levels in the normal range.  And this week, Manu's levels are dropping back into the normal range again, so the doctors will keep an eye on that.  Please continue to pray for Manu and his family.  Pray that he recovers well and that there will be no other concerns with the transplant.

As for me, I am recovering much quicker than I had expected.  I was able to get off of all pain meds after only a week post-surgery.  A week and a half after the surgery, I was able to go for walks of 2.75 km, 3.25 km and 6 km.  And at the 2 and a half week mark, I started running again - 5 km and now 7.5 kms.  So I am doing really well with the recovery!  But I'll try to milk it a few more weeks - breakfast in bed and being waited on hand and foot sure is nice!  ;-)

And as you can see from the 3-week-post-surgery foto below, the incisions are healing nicely.  You can barely see the 1cm keyhole scars anymore (yes, 1 of the keyhole incisions was INSIDE my belly-button).  And the 12cm / 5 inch incision is normally hidden by my pants so no one will ever see it except me.  It is kinda lumpy and  tough though, so that still bugs me.   And also, the only other things that still get me is the fatigue (surgeon said it can last for months - but afternoon naps sure help!) and the bloated/swollen feeling in my abdomen (and no, it isn't just my own gas that causes this!).  But I guess the only cure for these things is time.  So thanks for continuing to pray for Manu and me!  Will keep you posted....

[caption id="attachment_1364" align="aligncenter" width="615" caption="3 weeks after surgery"][/caption]

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