I have been pretty much absent from the forum for the past 6 months because my priorities have changed a bit…..
Let me rewind and over share a bit.
Last spring I noticed I was having shortness of breath when doing exercise. I at first thought maybe I was just completely out of shape, but friends told me that it had come on pretty suddenly. I was having to stop and catch my breath at the top of my stairs if I carried a laundry basket up. I decided to make an appointment to get both my heart and my lungs checked out.
My lungs checked out so I was sure it had something to do with my heart. Well, that was wrong too, but it took 1.5 months to get into the heart institute to tell me that. They did run tests and my primary care doctor did a few other tests and it turns out my kidneys were failing ….. I was down to 10-12% function which made me retain water around my heart which made my heart have to work harder.
Fast forward to now: I’ve been on PD dialysis since September 16th. I chose the option that affords me the most normal life so I have a port in my parataneal cavity ( abs area) that I hook up to my machine every night. It treats me while I sleep ( or attempt to sleep anyways). It’s about an 8 hour ordeal over night, but far better than any alternatives.
I’ve gained my energy back and have now been back to work for a little over a month ( which is actually nice as it takes my mind off of stuff). One nice thing now, is that it is almost becoming routine and find myself joking about it with friends…..
The best news, and probably the most unbelievable is that my wonderful wife signed up to be a kidney donor and after doing a good number of tests, turns out that she is a match for me. We are planning to do the transplant around the the of February / beginning of March so that my mom doesn’t have to worry about driving me to Swedish 2-3 times a week in the snow / ice.
Swedish told us that the odds are around 1 in 100k married couples that are actually compatible and willing to donate to their spouses. I feel extremely lucky on this front.
Anyways, I still love watching and feeding my fish, but the tank maintainance has fallen to my 16 year old son who has been amazing. Though he is only willing to clean the tanks every couple of weeks ( which I figure is better than nothing). All fish at present are healthy and doing well.
Pictures of the fish will be coming soon!
Let me rewind and over share a bit.
Last spring I noticed I was having shortness of breath when doing exercise. I at first thought maybe I was just completely out of shape, but friends told me that it had come on pretty suddenly. I was having to stop and catch my breath at the top of my stairs if I carried a laundry basket up. I decided to make an appointment to get both my heart and my lungs checked out.
My lungs checked out so I was sure it had something to do with my heart. Well, that was wrong too, but it took 1.5 months to get into the heart institute to tell me that. They did run tests and my primary care doctor did a few other tests and it turns out my kidneys were failing ….. I was down to 10-12% function which made me retain water around my heart which made my heart have to work harder.
Fast forward to now: I’ve been on PD dialysis since September 16th. I chose the option that affords me the most normal life so I have a port in my parataneal cavity ( abs area) that I hook up to my machine every night. It treats me while I sleep ( or attempt to sleep anyways). It’s about an 8 hour ordeal over night, but far better than any alternatives.
I’ve gained my energy back and have now been back to work for a little over a month ( which is actually nice as it takes my mind off of stuff). One nice thing now, is that it is almost becoming routine and find myself joking about it with friends…..
The best news, and probably the most unbelievable is that my wonderful wife signed up to be a kidney donor and after doing a good number of tests, turns out that she is a match for me. We are planning to do the transplant around the the of February / beginning of March so that my mom doesn’t have to worry about driving me to Swedish 2-3 times a week in the snow / ice.
Swedish told us that the odds are around 1 in 100k married couples that are actually compatible and willing to donate to their spouses. I feel extremely lucky on this front.
Anyways, I still love watching and feeding my fish, but the tank maintainance has fallen to my 16 year old son who has been amazing. Though he is only willing to clean the tanks every couple of weeks ( which I figure is better than nothing). All fish at present are healthy and doing well.
Pictures of the fish will be coming soon!
