We flew home on November 30th, a mere 5 days after surgery and here's the important points:
1. Wheelchairs are good. Trying to walk, no matter the size of the airport is not worth the pain it will cause later.
2. Medicate beforehand. I didn't, and it sucked. I only had T3s for the pain, and wouldn't recommend taking 2 as it makes me woozy, but 1 would have taken the edge off.
3. Earl came in handy. The hospital recommended I have a pillow or blanket between myself and the seat belt as a cushion and most airlines charge for these now, but Earl worked quite nicely. Not only did he provide comfort but the cushioning was greatly appreciated.
4. Wheelchairs. They are on the list twice for a reason.
5. A ride or a taxi, don't park at the airport. Airport parking involves walking, walking is not good at this stage. Chances are it's already been a long day with a lot of activity (especially if a certain dog gets out of your friend's house just as the cab arrives to take you to the airport and you have to chase him down before you can leave), and friends and taxis meet you at the curb which is a very good thing. Plus, they don't really let the wheelchairs out of the terminal building.
6. Rest. When you get home, just go straight to your wonderful warm, welcoming and comfortable bed and sleep. You need it.
All in all, its good to be home, and flying was way better than driving. Could not have survived every bump in the winter roads even on the way home from the airport, let alone from another city.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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Really enjoyed reading The Road to Donation. A lot of helpful details. A bit surprised by your determination to keep this as private as you did. I'm two months into testing and so far everything is looking good. This will be an "altruistic" donation. . . don't know who will receive my kidney. I haven't shared with too many yet as I want to be fairly certain that I'm going to "pass all the tests" first. I'm thinking I'd like others to know about what I'm doing with the hope that it might encourage someone else to donate.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your wonderful gift, and for taking the time to share your experience. A great encouragement for me as I go through the process.
Thank you for reading and for your wonderful comment. I wish you the best with everything. I will be posting more shortly regarding the recovery process and am just glad to hear this blog has helped in some way.
ReplyDeleteGreat. I'm anxious to hear how things are going.
ReplyDeleteMy wife donated to our son in 2001 but the new kidney failed within about four years. I started getting tested a couple of years ago for the paired donor program, hoping that would help find another donor for our son. Unfortunately his heart is in bad shape and he would need heart surgery before he could have another kidney transplant. He is 37 and has been a diabetic for about 35 years. He decided he didn't want to risk the heart surgery so I was taken out of the program until a couple of months ago.
Since I'm "pretty close" to a donor and recipient I feel that I've got a fairly good understanding of the potential for the good things that can come from a donation.