I'm Continuing to Heal

I've had some minor problems in healing from my May kidney transplant.  It took almost the full seven weeks for the incision wound left in my abdomen, that had been a major issue the week after the surgery, to finally close to the point where it no longer bled every day.  For all but this past week, I packed the hole with gauze soaked in Iodine and then covered it with dry gauze to protect my clothes.

I had pain in the area of the incision that at some times got to four on a scale of ten.  When I reported it to my transplant coordinator she told me the Tacrolimus I take was responsible for the slow healing.  Tacrolimus is an immuno-suppressive drug that I take to keep my body from attacking my new kidney.  And Tacrolimus is one of five medications I take to prevent rejection of the kidney.  Three are immuno-suppressants and the other two are an anti-bacterial and an anti-virus.  The transplant team has prescribed a generic form of Pepcid to keep me from having an upset stomach or heartburn from all of these drugs.  Despite the Pepcid I get heartburn from time to time.

The transplant team has been helpful as has my transplant coordinator.  I was released on June 11th to drive again and to be around groups of people of less than ten.  It will be mid-August before I can be around large crowds again, which is just in time for the season opener of my beloved Missouri Tigers on August 29th.

How is my health otherwise you ask.  I have heart issues that put me into atrial flutter.  I had a procedure called cardioversion which worked for about a year, but now the problem has returned. I saw my cardiologist a few weeks ago and she is recommending a procedure called ablation which she believes would solve the A-Fib or Flutter problem.  But, that will be some time before I can have it. The transplanted kidney and my body must be strong enough to tolerate the procedure. I still don't have my strength back and sometimes feel weak, especially my upper body and core. I am trying to get it back by walking 35 to 45 minutes each day.

As I write this I wonder if anybody really cares, but since I told you about the new kidney and the transplant back in May, I want to keep you up to speed with my recovery.