Saturday, November 16, 2013
Round 2!
Yesterday I went for my last round of tests for my kidney donation. This round kicked my butt a little bit, as I write this feeling nauseous thanks to the contrast dye from the CT scan.
My dad picked me up (he had nothing better to do, so he thought it would be good "quality time") at 7:30 in the morning and we got to the hospital right in time for my 8:30 appointment. I was immediately taken back to get blood drawn (only 2 vials this time!) and my vitals taken, I turned in my pee jug, then I was placed in an exam room to meet with the nephrologist. She very thoroughly explained to me the physical risks, and went through all my tests from last time as she did a general physical exam, as well. My meeting with her was great, she made me feel really well informed, plus she was pretty funny (apparently it's necessary to explain to some people that once the kidney is taken out, they cannot ask for it back!). She also said I'm in great health. I have a semi-low good cholesterol level, but she said that's probably genetic and not a big deal. Otherwise, my kidney function is perfect, and my blood tests are totally clean. So that was all really good news. She also asked me to participate in an independent medical study that she's conducting that will examine the before and after on the vascular tension surrounding the kidney (I probably just butchered that...it's something along those lines and it will hopefully help give a more accurate risk-assessment to future donors). The idea of being part of a medical study sounded too cool for me to say no, so I left there with a big old 24-hour blood pressure monitor around my neck as part of her research. Every 20 minutes I'd hear 2 beeps and then the arm belt would expand and record my blood pressure. Between 10pm and 6am it only went off every hour. So essentially I lost feeling in my arm every 20 minutes, and was woken up every hour during the night. It was semi-irritating, but it's hard to get too upset when I think about why I'm doing it. This was the machine...Papi Chulo got scared every time it went off, it was so cute!
After I was finished with the doctor, I met with the independent donor advocate. She was also really nice and informative. She asked me the same super invasive questions I've been asked by everybody I've met with, and ended by telling me that it sounded like I knew exactly what I was doing and mentally I'd be a good donor. So that felt pretty good too.
Then I went downstairs to wait for my CT scan. Those things aren't fun. I hadn't been able to eat all day in preparation for it, and by noon I was ready to pass out. I finally got taken back, put on my gown (the 2nd time that day I had to wear a gown), got my IV (those needles are a lot thicker and more painful than the normal blood drawing kind!), and laid down in the machine. The girls warned me that I was going to get really warm and feel as though I peed myself, but I kind of didn't believe them until it happened. What a weird feeling! I really didn't pee myself, for the record, it just felt that way! After all that I was exhausted and starving so my dad took me for pizza and ice cream at my favorite places in Old City and I spent the rest of the day catching up on my tv shows from the week. About an hour ago I was able to take off my blood pressure monitor, and my arm feels so free and light now!
Overall, I think yesterday's visit went really well. I found out that I'm in good health, both mentally and physically, and it was cool to let my dad see how nice all the people at the hospital are. Although it was a kind of uncomfortable and I spent a little too much time in hospital gowns, I left there feeling really positive and hopeful. I should get a call next Friday (or the Friday after, we were getting really confused talking about dates...this late Thanksgiving is really messing with people!) with a definite answer, so I should have an update next week! Until then... :)
My dad picked me up (he had nothing better to do, so he thought it would be good "quality time") at 7:30 in the morning and we got to the hospital right in time for my 8:30 appointment. I was immediately taken back to get blood drawn (only 2 vials this time!) and my vitals taken, I turned in my pee jug, then I was placed in an exam room to meet with the nephrologist. She very thoroughly explained to me the physical risks, and went through all my tests from last time as she did a general physical exam, as well. My meeting with her was great, she made me feel really well informed, plus she was pretty funny (apparently it's necessary to explain to some people that once the kidney is taken out, they cannot ask for it back!). She also said I'm in great health. I have a semi-low good cholesterol level, but she said that's probably genetic and not a big deal. Otherwise, my kidney function is perfect, and my blood tests are totally clean. So that was all really good news. She also asked me to participate in an independent medical study that she's conducting that will examine the before and after on the vascular tension surrounding the kidney (I probably just butchered that...it's something along those lines and it will hopefully help give a more accurate risk-assessment to future donors). The idea of being part of a medical study sounded too cool for me to say no, so I left there with a big old 24-hour blood pressure monitor around my neck as part of her research. Every 20 minutes I'd hear 2 beeps and then the arm belt would expand and record my blood pressure. Between 10pm and 6am it only went off every hour. So essentially I lost feeling in my arm every 20 minutes, and was woken up every hour during the night. It was semi-irritating, but it's hard to get too upset when I think about why I'm doing it. This was the machine...Papi Chulo got scared every time it went off, it was so cute!
After I was finished with the doctor, I met with the independent donor advocate. She was also really nice and informative. She asked me the same super invasive questions I've been asked by everybody I've met with, and ended by telling me that it sounded like I knew exactly what I was doing and mentally I'd be a good donor. So that felt pretty good too.
Then I went downstairs to wait for my CT scan. Those things aren't fun. I hadn't been able to eat all day in preparation for it, and by noon I was ready to pass out. I finally got taken back, put on my gown (the 2nd time that day I had to wear a gown), got my IV (those needles are a lot thicker and more painful than the normal blood drawing kind!), and laid down in the machine. The girls warned me that I was going to get really warm and feel as though I peed myself, but I kind of didn't believe them until it happened. What a weird feeling! I really didn't pee myself, for the record, it just felt that way! After all that I was exhausted and starving so my dad took me for pizza and ice cream at my favorite places in Old City and I spent the rest of the day catching up on my tv shows from the week. About an hour ago I was able to take off my blood pressure monitor, and my arm feels so free and light now!
Overall, I think yesterday's visit went really well. I found out that I'm in good health, both mentally and physically, and it was cool to let my dad see how nice all the people at the hospital are. Although it was a kind of uncomfortable and I spent a little too much time in hospital gowns, I left there feeling really positive and hopeful. I should get a call next Friday (or the Friday after, we were getting really confused talking about dates...this late Thanksgiving is really messing with people!) with a definite answer, so I should have an update next week! Until then... :)
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