Discharged

I was discharged earlier this afternoon after lunch. I think my last post was from Thursday around noon. Not much happened on Friday, except for a lot of education sessions and tests. So many tests. I was getting notifications on my phone every few hours about a new test result. Basically, all the main ESRD indicators were improving, especially decreasing creatinine, potassium, and phosphorus numbers. They were worried about the phosphorus so I even got phosphorus supplements for $50 copay. Crazy.

This morning, the nurse removed my foley catheter at around 9:00 am. OMG, that was one of the most intense pains I ever experienced. It was a combination of stinging and burning sensations deep inside you gut. I clenched my fists so hard that the EKG and O2 sensors began reading erratically. Then I had to try and pee out the rest of the urine myself. They wanted to see if I can empty my bladder so there’s <50 mL of fluid left. After the first try, there was still ~100 mL left so I had to wait and pee again. Each time a tiny bit would come out, the pain hit again. Finally, after 4-5 tries, I was able to completely void my bladder. In the meantime, they gave me GaviLyte to drink in order to induce bowel movement. This is the evil flush fluid I had to drink prior to my colonoscopy. I got two cups in before the nurse said never-mind… thanks a lot.

After getting lunch, I changed into my street clothes and gathered all my electronics plus a huge bag of medication, and checked out. Easy. My parents have already got into the Westwood apartment so they came to pick me up. Just like that, in about 40 hours time, I got a kidney transplant and was discharged by the hospital. There is still a lot of appointments to go, but the most worrisome part is over. No more dialysis for a very long time hopefully.