Merry Christmas!!
My apologies again for the lack of new content here, there just isn't any exciting stuff to post about ya know. I'm back at work trying to go at it full bore but still find my core strength is limited. I feel great otherwise! I still have some minor complaints, but nothing that really affects my daily routine. That being said, I tried to lift some skids at work the other day and damn near pissed my pants in the process! Even now I have this weird sensation in my gut...nothing bad, just a sensation...it goes from being tight to this strange, sporadic 'fluttery' feeling. Once it settles down, it feels like I've been punched in the stomach and I have to pee. It's worse in the mornings and after I get up from sitting for a while. I guess like everything else, it'll just take time before I'm back to the old me again.
It's funny just how much we take advantage of our 'healthy' bodies. When everything feels fine, we are invincible!! Get a cold or some other malady, and we become helpless creatures, dependent on medications and miracle cures, pull or strain a muscle and our entire body feels the effect. Of course, it always happens at the worst time possible too. "Ahh man! I can't get a cold today, I have stuff to do!" I'm the absolute worst offender too. If I get hurt, I baby myself for way too long. I really need to change this behaviour, I'm not as invincible as I once was, I need to slow down and do what I can & not what I think I can. I hope some of this makes sense.
So, this particular blog of mine will change direction and focus in the coming weeks. I'll still post updates on me and my experiences, but I'll also be posting more transplantation news and individual transplant stories. I've also got a new quest on the horizon that I'll be posting about....exciting stuff too.
At some point today, give a silent thanks to the many nurses and doctors that will be staffing our hospitals while we enjoy the holidays. The last thing is this, sign your donor card, it's free, it's fast and you could save a life....and it's the best Christmas gift you will ever give!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
3 Month Follow-Up
Yikes!! I'm sorry once again for the lack of updates!! There just hasn't really been anything exciting or worth updating on....till now!
On Thursday December 3rd, I had my last scheduled follow-up appointment at Toronto General Hospital. Nothing exciting, just another blood test and a check-up with Dr. Adcock. (For the 6 month and the 9 month follow-up, the hospital will mail me requisition forms for blood work which can be taken to a lab of my choosing.) Once I hit the 1 year mark, I think it's a blood test and a follow-up at Toronto General Hospital. I'm not a 100% sure of that, so don't quote me on that. From then on, it's a blood test once a year, for the next ten years. I will say one thing for sure, I'm gonna miss parading around that hospital. There are some good people there.
As always, my day started out at the blood lab, I registered at about 10:45 and was called in right away. They took 3 vials of blood...very uneventful. I didn't recognize any of the lab techs either. Actually, the whole lab was like a ghost town! Even the waiting room was void of people, kind of un-nerving walking into a major hospital and seeing only 2 people waiting for blood tests! I'm not complaining, I'm just saying is all.
Needless to say, I had a few hours to kill before my 1:00 pm appointment with Dr. Adcock, so I wandered the block surrounding the hospital a few times. Sometimes it's kind of cool to sit and watch people come and go, especially around the hospitals because you know every single person that walks in or out those doors has a story to tell.
When it got close to 1:00, I headed up to the 12th floor for my clinic appointment. I even brought a list of concerns and questions to ask so I wouldn't forget anything! It wasn't long of a wait before Dr. Adcock, (Lesley) called me in. She led me down the corridor right to the scales!! Now, I used to be a fairly thin fit guy...but now I'm a doughy fat pork-ball! Even the good doctor commented on my new found 'girth'. She told me get on the scale, but not before I emptied my pockets of all keys, chap-stick, wallet, loose change AND I took off my shoes! Didn't help much though as I had gained almost 15 lbs!! I can't blame it on fluid retention either, it's all that inactivity and the constant snacking!
After the weigh in, we made our way to the examination room. We chatted a bit about the weather, how Christmas was coming and all that small talk. Once settled in the room, she asked me how things were going and before I could answer, she said..
"You know, your recipient is doing soooo good. You really did a wonderful thing". Now I know they aren't gonna say "wow, your recipient is doing really shitty, we should have checked your crappy liver more carefully", but knowing he is doing well sure makes all the pain and sleepless nights easier to take.
Lesley checked the computer to see if the results from the blood tests were back yet, she was rhyming off numbers and letters left and right and I had no idea what she was talking about. End result? All my levels are right where they should be, most are what they were before the surgery which is good to know. The incision itself is healing really good. I told her about the seepage I had, but after inspecting where it was, she had no concerns. She pressed around my belly saying the ridge of my liver was where it was supposed to be at this stage so all is really good! My list of questions and concerns was actually fairly minor...but they still needed addressing.
So, my belly is still numb, sometimes it's itchy as hell and most times it feels really hot. Sometimes it feels really tight when I first get up or after I am bent down and I find I have no core strength at all. Apparently, this is all normal. The numbness will go away in time, the itchiness and tingly sensation are the nerves reconnecting. All those stomach muscles were sliced across so they could get to the liver. The core strength and feeling will come back. My other concern was the constant growling and 'squishy' sounds my belly makes. Seriously, if I am in the living room, you can hear it in the kitchen! It's even worse during the night and it actually wakes me up. As an added bonus, I still have the heartburn! I have medication for the stomach and have been on it for years now, so I'm no stranger to heartburn. The growly squishy noises is something I'll have to keep an eye on.
The other good thing Leslie told me was that I'm pretty much out of the danger zone. Things might be uncomfortable for me to do, but doing them won't harm my surgery site or my liver. I just need to remember to take things slower than usual and not to over-do it.
When I left, I gave Lesley some hugs and headed to Cailins office just down the hall. As luck would have it, she was just inside the door talking with a would-be-donor...once she was done, she waved me down to her office. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed a little tense in the transplant office, so I didn't want to stay long. Cailin gave me a bunch of paperwork which I'll post about at a later date and we chatted for a bit about holiday plans and general pleasantries. The one thing I really wanted before I left was a picture of me, Calin and Bryan....which I got!!
On Thursday December 3rd, I had my last scheduled follow-up appointment at Toronto General Hospital. Nothing exciting, just another blood test and a check-up with Dr. Adcock. (For the 6 month and the 9 month follow-up, the hospital will mail me requisition forms for blood work which can be taken to a lab of my choosing.) Once I hit the 1 year mark, I think it's a blood test and a follow-up at Toronto General Hospital. I'm not a 100% sure of that, so don't quote me on that. From then on, it's a blood test once a year, for the next ten years. I will say one thing for sure, I'm gonna miss parading around that hospital. There are some good people there.
As always, my day started out at the blood lab, I registered at about 10:45 and was called in right away. They took 3 vials of blood...very uneventful. I didn't recognize any of the lab techs either. Actually, the whole lab was like a ghost town! Even the waiting room was void of people, kind of un-nerving walking into a major hospital and seeing only 2 people waiting for blood tests! I'm not complaining, I'm just saying is all.
Needless to say, I had a few hours to kill before my 1:00 pm appointment with Dr. Adcock, so I wandered the block surrounding the hospital a few times. Sometimes it's kind of cool to sit and watch people come and go, especially around the hospitals because you know every single person that walks in or out those doors has a story to tell.
When it got close to 1:00, I headed up to the 12th floor for my clinic appointment. I even brought a list of concerns and questions to ask so I wouldn't forget anything! It wasn't long of a wait before Dr. Adcock, (Lesley) called me in. She led me down the corridor right to the scales!! Now, I used to be a fairly thin fit guy...but now I'm a doughy fat pork-ball! Even the good doctor commented on my new found 'girth'. She told me get on the scale, but not before I emptied my pockets of all keys, chap-stick, wallet, loose change AND I took off my shoes! Didn't help much though as I had gained almost 15 lbs!! I can't blame it on fluid retention either, it's all that inactivity and the constant snacking!
After the weigh in, we made our way to the examination room. We chatted a bit about the weather, how Christmas was coming and all that small talk. Once settled in the room, she asked me how things were going and before I could answer, she said..
"You know, your recipient is doing soooo good. You really did a wonderful thing". Now I know they aren't gonna say "wow, your recipient is doing really shitty, we should have checked your crappy liver more carefully", but knowing he is doing well sure makes all the pain and sleepless nights easier to take.
Lesley checked the computer to see if the results from the blood tests were back yet, she was rhyming off numbers and letters left and right and I had no idea what she was talking about. End result? All my levels are right where they should be, most are what they were before the surgery which is good to know. The incision itself is healing really good. I told her about the seepage I had, but after inspecting where it was, she had no concerns. She pressed around my belly saying the ridge of my liver was where it was supposed to be at this stage so all is really good! My list of questions and concerns was actually fairly minor...but they still needed addressing.
So, my belly is still numb, sometimes it's itchy as hell and most times it feels really hot. Sometimes it feels really tight when I first get up or after I am bent down and I find I have no core strength at all. Apparently, this is all normal. The numbness will go away in time, the itchiness and tingly sensation are the nerves reconnecting. All those stomach muscles were sliced across so they could get to the liver. The core strength and feeling will come back. My other concern was the constant growling and 'squishy' sounds my belly makes. Seriously, if I am in the living room, you can hear it in the kitchen! It's even worse during the night and it actually wakes me up. As an added bonus, I still have the heartburn! I have medication for the stomach and have been on it for years now, so I'm no stranger to heartburn. The growly squishy noises is something I'll have to keep an eye on.
The other good thing Leslie told me was that I'm pretty much out of the danger zone. Things might be uncomfortable for me to do, but doing them won't harm my surgery site or my liver. I just need to remember to take things slower than usual and not to over-do it.
When I left, I gave Lesley some hugs and headed to Cailins office just down the hall. As luck would have it, she was just inside the door talking with a would-be-donor...once she was done, she waved me down to her office. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed a little tense in the transplant office, so I didn't want to stay long. Cailin gave me a bunch of paperwork which I'll post about at a later date and we chatted for a bit about holiday plans and general pleasantries. The one thing I really wanted before I left was a picture of me, Calin and Bryan....which I got!!
Cailin is such a sweetheart, and Bryan is really neat. I haven't had much time with Bryan, but he's a really cool guy and one of those people who just seems very fun, yet sincere. Besides, how many transplant workers would agree to this?
This last photo shows what I have become..
''Flubbery, rubbery blubbery outta shape dude
Look at me, I'm a pear!''
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Did You Know....
The University Health Networks 'Multi-Organ Transplant Program' performs approximately 400 transplants annually, provides follow-up care to almost 5000 transplant recipients, and serves as a model for many other transplant centres around the world.
As the first and largest transplant program in Canada, the Multi-Organ Transplant Program at UHN provides a broad spectrum of services currently encompassing heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and small bowel transplantation. Our Living Liver and Kidney Donor Programs are very successful in providing organs for patients and the living liver program has become the largest program in North America.
Currently, UHN has two living donor programs: Kidney and Liver. Living kidney donation started in the 1960s. Living liver donation started in the 1990s but was initially restricted to adults donating to a sick child. In 2000 our philosophy changed and living liver donation was offered to adults. UHN has now performed over 300 living liver donation surgeries making the program the largest in North America.
As the first and largest transplant program in Canada, the Multi-Organ Transplant Program at UHN provides a broad spectrum of services currently encompassing heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and small bowel transplantation. Our Living Liver and Kidney Donor Programs are very successful in providing organs for patients and the living liver program has become the largest program in North America.
Currently, UHN has two living donor programs: Kidney and Liver. Living kidney donation started in the 1960s. Living liver donation started in the 1990s but was initially restricted to adults donating to a sick child. In 2000 our philosophy changed and living liver donation was offered to adults. UHN has now performed over 300 living liver donation surgeries making the program the largest in North America.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Remembrance Day
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
by John McCrae
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw the sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw the sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
65_RedRoses
I'm not quite sure what I want to write here, and even more unsure how to phrase it without sounding cheesy. So please bear with me.
The Internet can be a fantastic place. It allows us to visit far away places, introduces us to people from all walks of life and in all kinds of situations. It also opens our eyes to the plights and the triumphs of others. Over the years I've discovered a great number of people with fantastic life stories to tell. Stories of conquests, coping and just stories of, and about, really neat people! Granted, most of these stories I've discovered revolve around people who, by no fault of their own, are in need of an organ transplant. I'll probably never meet any of these people or will I ever know them, but I'm so very grateful for knowing of them through the Internet.
One such person is Eva Markvoort. She's a 26 year old dynamo with CF...and what a spirited person she is. Her story is also the focus of a documentary airing in November on CBC's 'The Passionate Eye'. I urge you to tune and watch it. Also, Visit her blog at http://65redroses.livejournal.com/ and get to know her yourself!
Oh...and please sign up to be an organ donor!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Flu Shots
Well, yet another week slips by and I am going stir crazy sitting in this house! Don't get me wrong, I'm very appreciative of the rest...but good grief! I have a list of stuff I would love to tackle but am limited to what I can do due to the 'no heavy lifting' clause. I did do some cleaning and organising in my garage and the leaves have all been raked up and out to the curb, but I want to do some other chores and I can't! The other thing that saddens me is I've become fat. Yes, I have this dual ring of blubber that surrounds my midriff section and it is in fact fatty, blubbery, flabby tissue. The first ring is my fat belly, the newest ring is, shamefully, my gunt. My pants don't fit me anymore and I can no longer wrap a towel around my waist and have it stay there on its own just by tucking the ends over and inside. Know why? Cause I'm fat! Fat caused by inactivity! I'm hideous...look away.
So yesterday I decided to get my seasonal flu shot. Yaaa, I figured it had been way to long since I had any needles jammed into me and I missed the smell of alcohol swabs! Sooooo, I shuffled off to the walk-in flu clinic down the road....actually I drove cause I'm fat and lazy. Anyways, I try to get the flu shot every year, and even though I did the liver donation this year, I still needed a flu shot. Now, to be honest, I had no problem with them giving me the flu shot, it was the H1N1 shot that spooked me! After all, it's teeming with mercury and bleach! How would my system handle that? My body is so busy rebuilding liver cells would either shot make me sick? What if I had a reaction? What if I got the flu from the shot itself!? Bleeh!! Actually, a quick email the day before to Cailin at TGH set me straight! I would have no problem with either shot. So no worries!
The wait time at the clinic wasn't so bad, maybe 15 minutes for registering, 30 minute wait for the shots and then the 15 minute 'calm-down' period. The worst thing was they gave me one shot in each arm. The shots didn't hurt going in, but a couple of hours later my arms felt like dead weight and man were they sore! Not only that, I feel all flu-ish. Not good for fat little guys like me. Needless to say, I'm a bit sore still.
We got snow today too! No big accumulations mind you, but it snowed! Not a big of fan of the snow and cold. Winter sucks!
Oh yaa, I was going to post the video of my last blood thinner shot on here but guess what? The camera I used to record that very piece of visual history didn't save the clip! Or it did and I can't find it. In any case, if the clip should be found, I'll post it.
So yesterday I decided to get my seasonal flu shot. Yaaa, I figured it had been way to long since I had any needles jammed into me and I missed the smell of alcohol swabs! Sooooo, I shuffled off to the walk-in flu clinic down the road....actually I drove cause I'm fat and lazy. Anyways, I try to get the flu shot every year, and even though I did the liver donation this year, I still needed a flu shot. Now, to be honest, I had no problem with them giving me the flu shot, it was the H1N1 shot that spooked me! After all, it's teeming with mercury and bleach! How would my system handle that? My body is so busy rebuilding liver cells would either shot make me sick? What if I had a reaction? What if I got the flu from the shot itself!? Bleeh!! Actually, a quick email the day before to Cailin at TGH set me straight! I would have no problem with either shot. So no worries!
The wait time at the clinic wasn't so bad, maybe 15 minutes for registering, 30 minute wait for the shots and then the 15 minute 'calm-down' period. The worst thing was they gave me one shot in each arm. The shots didn't hurt going in, but a couple of hours later my arms felt like dead weight and man were they sore! Not only that, I feel all flu-ish. Not good for fat little guys like me. Needless to say, I'm a bit sore still.
We got snow today too! No big accumulations mind you, but it snowed! Not a big of fan of the snow and cold. Winter sucks!
Oh yaa, I was going to post the video of my last blood thinner shot on here but guess what? The camera I used to record that very piece of visual history didn't save the clip! Or it did and I can't find it. In any case, if the clip should be found, I'll post it.
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