A little life update ( throwing this in the lounge as it doesn’t particularly fit anywhere else).

[lloyd378]

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!

 

[DMD123]

Wow, a lots has been going on with you! Sorry to hear about the problems but glad a solution is in the works. Thinking about you and the family during this time. Keep us updated.

 

[sir_keith]

@lloyd378- Very best to you, my friend. We all take life for granted, like it's a birthright, until it is not. But good things come to good people. About 20 years ago a good friend was suddenly unwell- I'm thinking that he was about your age- and after a long series of tests the results were similar- chronic kidney failure, exacerbated by alcohol abuse earlier in life. Months on dialysis, and then a transplant, with his wife as the donor, unlikely enough, as you've said. They are both well now, all these years later. Happy endings do happen; we shall be looking forward to yours.

 

[fishguy1978]

Wow, glad to hear you are improving. I will be praying for you and the upcoming surgery.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

@lloyd378- Very best to you, my friend. We all take life for granted, like it's a birthright, until it is not. But good things come to good people. About 20 years ago a good friend was suddenly unwell- I'm thinking that he was about your age- and after a long series of tests the results were similar- chronic kidney failure, exacerbated by alcohol abuse earlier in life. Months on dialysis, and then a transplant, with his wife as the donor, unlikely enough, as you've said. They are both well now, all these years later. Happy endings do happen; we shall be looking forward to yours.

Disability is something you never even think about until it happens. Be it a temporary setback or a lifelong disability that was manageable until it becomes debilitating. It really resets your perspectives on life.

 

[lloyd378]

New update….my original timeline got pushed back because the found a little ( that’s what the surgeon said…. Just a little) plaque build up in one artery. So they cleaned that up and I had to get a stint to strengthen it. This happened at the end of December. I was then told that I had to stay on my blood thinners for 3 months. This new timeline pushed a transplant to April. Long story short, the heart doctor that I originally saw ( only once) was asked to clear me for a transplant but he declined and said I couldn’t do it until at least k the middle of July.

I was not happy with this as he hadn’t treated me for anything and was just listed as my primary heart doctor because I went to him before Swedish. Anyways, I went and saw him again last week, showed him my new test results and after some back and forth, he finally agreed to allow Swedish to make the decision on when I could proceed.

I then called Swedish and asked to move it to either beginning of June or end of May so that my recovery time would be longer before having to return to work in September. The team at Swedish met this Tuesday and shared with my wife and I that my proposal was a “go”,

What that means is that I am now scheduled to get a kidney transplant on June 2nd…..

I am not celebrating yet, as that is still over a month away and I don’t want to jinx anything between now and then that may extend the timeline for a transplant, but I can’t lie that this is good news for me.

 

[sir_keith]

Bravo to you, my friend, for being proactive about taking your care into your own hands. The medical profession in this country has become so cautious over the last few decades that it is often up to the patient to become his/her primary advocate. And the heart-doc you saw was obviously just passing the buck of responsibility; it happens all too often these days.

I'll be rooting for you on June 2.

 

[lloyd378]

Thank you!

 

[Madness]

Praying that June 2nd is the start of a new life for you.