Not All Rest and Relaxation.

It's hard work to recover from surgery. Especially for kidney x-plant. No sooner you get released from the hospital, you have to begin your semi-weekly blood drawings.

After a sketchy night of rest, what with dressing changes and bathroom visits, we got up and readied ourselves for a ride up to the Transplant Clinic. Timing is of the essence. Two hours after taking his anti-rejection meds, a blood level needs to be taken. For the first few weeks to months we keep this up until an optimized dosage is reached. That dose can be lower or higher than what is currently prescribed. You need just enough to keep the immune system dampened, but not so much as to suffer from drug side-effects.

Later this afternoon, I negotiated the pick-up of several prescriptions. Very fortunately, we reached our medical deductible early on in 2008. The Pangloss in me says that even though 2008 really bit the big kielbasa, it had the best of all possible circumstances to undergo major surgery and hospitalization. Good insurance is something, ya know.

Mark is doing as is expected. His appetite is wonderful. In fact, a good hot meal makes him a very very happy guy who momentarily forgets his aches and pains. Healing requires calories and rest. And a bit of movement.

He also must record his temperatures, BPs, and weight daily. OSU has a website called TransChart for patients to enter information and learn their lab results. Pretty handy. Of course, we are all up into the TransChart.

I'm hoping tonight will be a more restful night.