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.

Another new beginning, this time with a pre-owned kidney. Surgery went well, and everything seems to be working. My donor (sister) is doing great and being discharged later today.

We got to the hospital at 6:00 am and it took about and hour to wait and get checked in. Afterwards, we both went to pre-op to change and get IV ports, etc. However, my potassium levels were still high so they wanted to dialyze me one more time. I got wheeled up to the dialysis unit, and was hooked up for two hours. UCLA contracts out their dialysis services to DaVita so I had some of their techs work on me. As usual, my fistula was giving them trouble; it took three people and four needle sticks to get good bloodflow. Our surgeries were scheduled for 8:00am but was delayed for five hours due to dialysis. I was taken to the OR around 1:00 pm and woke up at 8:00 pm. The first 30 minutes were weird. I was very disoriented and felt the urge to pee really badly. However, they had stuck me with a catheter to measure urine output so I couldn’t go anyway.

After an hour they wheeled me up to my room. Unfortunately, I did not get my own room and I’m sharing with a Korean man. I haven’t seen him yet since the separator curtain is always drawn. I did get the TV in my half of the room instead of the window. The first night wasn’t that good. I was tired and hungry and the catheter hurt. Also I had what felt like a full bladder which kept me awake. Meanwhile, a ton of people came through the room to take readings or to disseminate information.

I finally got something to eat around 9:00 am. To my disappointment, it was a bariatric liquid meal with plain broth, juice, sugar-free gelatin, and herbal tea. Lunch at 1:00 pm was basically the same.

I did go for a walk before lunch. The pain wasn’t that bad, but due to orthostatic hypotension, my BP would drop a lot when standing up and I would feel dizzy. I ended up walking around the building hallway three times and it felt good to get up. It’s about 2:30 pm now and I’ve already spoken to the dietitian and pharmacist. The main lesson is tomorrow morning. It going to be busy in this room with two patients. There is a lot to learn but I can’t screw up and lose this kidney. My sister needs her other one for herself. 😀

The ride up from Irvine to UCLA was pretty quick. It only to about an hour, even during rush hour. We checked in to Tiverton House first, then drove to the medical center for my COVID vaccination.

The room is decent for $179/night. I had to pay for my room while my sister’s room was comped. I guess they just charge Medicare for the room. It’s nicer than the room they showed us two weeks ago but I think getting an entire apartment through Airbnb is a better deal. There is free breakfast from 6:30 am to 9:30 am but we need to check in for pre-op at 6:00 am tomorrow.

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It’s about 4:00 am and I didn’t get that much sleep. My arm was fine yesterday but the vaccination site is really sore now.

One of the last tests we had to do for the upcoming surgery is a COVID-19 test. As I mentioned before, UCLA only allows testing to be done at one of their sites. When I called for a reservation, the closest location with available time slots is in Santa Monica. So, instead of a minor inconvenience in getting tested, it became a huge hassle. Our appointment time was at 11:30 am so I picked up my sister around 10:00 am for the long drive. The traffic was a bit lighter than we thought so we stopped by the Glendon Apartments in Westwood to check out the place. We are planning to stay there for two weeks post surgery.

We got to the testing site at around 11:20 am and was checked-in immediately. We then drove around the parking lot to a tent, and two people came over to collect samples. Unfortunately, they are still using the back of the sinus collection method so it felt like they were cramming the swab into our brains. This was the first time for my sister so she didn’t know what to expect. For me, it’s the third time and it felt just as painful. Overall, it took <2 minutes but the drive was over 100 miles and about 2.5 hours.

Let’s hope the tests come back negative…

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Sigh, everything is so last second. We waited over 4 years for the transplant and it seems everything needs to get done tomorrow since the surgery is Wednesday. I just got a call that UCLA wants me to get the COVID-19 vaccine before the surgery. Since I have to go to one of their clinics, I ended up scheduling it for tomorrow at 6:00 pm. We’re going up there tomorrow night anyway so I’ll just get the shot prior to checking in at the guest house. I hope that’s good enough and I won’t have to make a run up to UCLA tonight.

I got a call from UCLA this morning to check-in for my surgery next Wednesday. My sister said she got a call yesterday from the same office. So right now, we’re both checked-in and registered.

I’m getting more and more nervous as the date draws closer. I keep thinking the next email or call from UCLA is to cancel the procedure. They added some more test results to the online portal, which freaked me out until I saw it was just old test results from St. Joseph hospital. Sigh…

I started looking for room options in Westwood post transplant surgery. If I need to stay for a few weeks, then the rooms at Tiverton House are going to be very restrictive for three people. If we get adjoining rooms, then the cost is very high, around $350/day. For that much money, I can get a nice apartment with Airbnb.

Since my parents will probably stay with me, I filtered for a two bedroom apartment. There is a limited selection, and all are around $200/night. If you look closely at the listings however, it seems like there are only two hosts with a bunch of apartments each. It feels like professional management companies rather than individuals renting out their apartment. Since it’s LA, there is an hotel/occupancy tax for each listing. The total for 13 days is a bit over $3000 total.

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If I filter for hosts that allow for cancellations, then it’s just down to one host with seven apartments. I don’t know if it’s the actual apartment management renting out the rooms, or another person renting them long term and subleasing out? If you look on apartments.com, there are only a few two bedroom apartments for rent inside Westwood Village, and they rent for $4000-$4500/month. How are these Airbnb’s making money during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Update: 1/22/2021 12:15 pm

I booked an apartment yesterday for 13 days starting next Saturday. The rental is in the Glendon Apartment complex in Westwood. I haven’t lived in/near Westwood since 1990 so it will be interesting to hang out there for two weeks. Hopefully I’ve recovered enough to walk around a bit.

Nobody has called me yet but I got a notification that additional test results were available at UCLA Health. I quickly logged in to check and both seem to be relevant. This is all the test results so far:

Initially, they wanted me to see an infectious disease doctor because of the 0.227 result on the IgM test. Later they said to wait for tests, and the two new ones are both negative. I hope these are it and UCLA will give the go ahead for the transplant.

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Update: 1/16/2021 1:40 pm

I got notification for another test result while I was at dialysis this morning. It was nerve-wracking since I thought we were done with additional test results. This time, the test was Coccidioides Antibody, CF and my results were the same as the reference value of <1:2. Again, I have no idea what that means, but all that I care about now is that the result is normal/negative. This is the fifth test for Valley Fever so far. Since nobody called me from UCLA yesterday, I don’t know if there are any more test results pending.

Coordinator just called me back during dialysis. Now they’re waiting for another test to confirm the initial antibody test. So we wait. It’s an emotional roller coaster ride for sure.

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Chest X-ray came back. This is probably the 4th one this year. It was free of plural effusion and pneumothorax.

A pneumothorax is a collapsed lung. A pneumothorax occurs when air leaks into the space between your lung and chest wall. This air pushes on the outside of your lung and makes it collapse. Pneumothorax can be a complete lung collapse or a collapse of only a portion of the lung.

They’re probably waiting for another test unless they’re looking for evidence of pneumonia or TB.