I also survived my best friend's wedding this weekend, which consisted of lots of dancing and drinking, and very little sleep. It was overall one of my favorite weekends, maybe of my life...aside from the fact that it was ridiculously fun, I've never seen Kerry so happy...it was just perfect! Aside from 16 years of friend, Kerry was with me through the whole donation process; she helped take care of me and came to the hospital more than once without me having to ask, so it was really important for me to be with her on such a special day. It also made me happy that I chose to donate my kidney, rather than part of my liver because I most definitely would not be functioning today had that been the case!
Me and Kerry at the wedding:
One of the weirder things I've noticed is that I'm not gaining weight. In the weeks following the surgery I dropped down to my lowest weight (probably from not being able to eat a lot and loss of muscle mass), and I was concerned that once I started eating normally I'd gain a lot back since I wasn't able to exercise, but at my appointment 2 weeks ago I hadn't even gained a pound back. I'm definitely not complaining, I just thought it was interesting that my body is functioning a little differently in that way (because normally I gain weight just looking at food!).
It's also really cool that I've been noticing a lot of transplant stuff lately...like Wilson donating his liver to a patient on an episode of House that I was watching last week, or Frank getting his kidney removed (when he was supposed to getting a new liver on the black market) on Shameless. Even Hannibal had a character talking about living with one kidney after one of his was cut out (and eaten, actually, if I remember correctly). I love seeing stories of organ donation, and I hope to eventually be able to help spread the need for it. I learned from seeing a news story, so you never know what just hearing a little story can do!
Emotionally I haven't had any issues. In the first 3 weeks I became a little over the pain and kind of nervous I'd feel that way forever, but I was lucky not to feel any kind of depression, which is something I hear about often in the transplant groups I'm a part of. People sometimes liken it to pregnancy post-partum. I never felt anything like that and I haven't for a minute regretted doing it. It's hard to describe the feeling I got when I learned that not only did I start a chain of 4 kidney transplants, but that my direct recipient is doing great. Since I wasn't a part of the transplant community before this whole thing, sometimes it's hard for me now to read all the stories of people waiting for organs. I get sad that I can't help more people, but it's a small comfort to be able to remind myself that I did what I could to at least help one.
So in general, I'm pretty much back to normal. There are a few things I still can't do, like pick up my nephew or work out my stomach. I still feel strange when I eat too much, or when I belly-laugh in excess. I'm sure in a few weeks that will be gone and I'll be 100%. More than anything I'm looking forward to getting back to full out workouts. My life doesn't really need to change from surgery...I don't have dietary restrictions or anything, but it's more important than before that I stay in shape and keep my weight down (because I can't risk diabetes).
My one incision is little weird right now, but once that heals and my stomach goes down I'll post pictures of my scars. :)
