I cannot tell a lie...

So one of the goals of this blog is to encourage people to donate their kidneys to strangers in need. Along with all the upside, there has been some pain. My surgery on Thursday went off without a hitch. I was wheeled into the operating room at around 9:20 am.

After pleasantries were exchanged among everyone, I was promptly put under. My kidney was lovingly removed, prepped, and implanted into my recipient. At around 2:30 pm, I started to wake up from my drug induced fog, in pain and with a dry mouth. I hate waking from anesthesia, because all I want to do is sleep, and all the nurse wants me to do is wake up.

She brought me some water as I fought to keep my eyes open. The pain was pretty severe, so the nurse administered some morphine to take the edge off. I need that recipe. With each shot the pain melted away like an ice cube on blacktop. Eventually I was fully awake and was wheeled up to my room. And what a room it was. As a treat, I was given a suite in the McKeen Pavillion, NY Presbyterian's award winning patient recovery area. We had views of the Hudson River, GW Bridge, and the entire island of Manhattan. My recovery was made much more enjoyable watching the ships pass outside my window, and seeing the New York Skyline at dusk. Fantastic!




I started to settle in for a long painful evening. Soon an attractive nurse came to remove my urinary catheter. It was my first time having one, let's hope its my last. Not a comfortable feeling, I can assure you. In one swift but startling motion, she extracted the tube. Relief! Ok this won't be so bad....