#83. World Kidney Day - March 2013



Here  I am, five months post-surgery.  Most of the time I don’t even remember that I only have one kidney, and I don’t think very much about the operation anymore.   Which is kind of weird because I spent 18 months thinking intensively about it. 

What’s funny is that when I meet people who I haven’t seen in six months, I get a very big hello and a very pointed, “How ARE you??” And I wonder why they are acting so strange, and then I remember that they haven’t seen me since my surgery.

How am I?   I can’t notice any  big differences in my body really.  The incisions are all fine and don’t hurt.  My back doesn’t hurt anymore.  Digestively I sometimes have issues with gurgly gas in my intestines, I never really noticed that before.  I feel back to my regular energy, and my regular life, regular amounts of activity.

Six weeks after the operation I went to my family doctor to have my creatinine levels checked (a blood test),  and they were fine.  I have a blood test once a year, that’s the only follow up there is.

One thing that is a bit of a drag is that since my surgery I have had three bad colds, which is very unusual for me, I might get one cold a winter.  So that does show you that my immune system has taken a hit.  I am trying to take care of myself.

I still have people coming up to me and telling me kidney stories, about how someone they know had kidney disease and died, or how someone’s life was saved by a transplant.  I’ve had people I hardly know come and talk to me about reading my blog and how it made a big impression on their life.

I don’t think very much about the person who has my kidney, it seems a bit unreal.  It’s a contrast to how much I was thinking about them before the surgery. 

And today is World Kidney Day; on my facebook page I encouraged people to sign their donor card.  I was surprised to find that only 25% of people in Ontario have signed their donor card.  It's a small gesture, but one that can save a life.