Troy here. 3 weeks since surgery. Still hanging in there :) You're notes and cards and prayers are so appreciated. You've made me smile so many times when I hear or read them :) It's really helped.
Glad to talk to Bobby the other day and hear he's doing so well. He's been doing some fishing, hanging with the family, playing video games and now building a radio-controlled plane. He couldn't go to the local fair however because he must stay away from crowds and infection. He also said you can't really notice the kidney under his skin. Because he's thin and the kidney is simply added on top of other organs, it was expected that an outline would be noticeable.
As for me, I went back to work (from home) part-time this week. I've still got the nausea and bowel problems. However, I'm glad it's me having difficulty rather than Bobby! I'm trying to gain weight but no real progress yet. The nausea makes food loose it's appeal. Robin is really helping, though. She's been giving me tea to calm my stomach before I eat. And she's making high-calorie foods. She got me these 300-calorie snack bars, high calorie protein shakes, flaxseed oil and bacon (which is a first for me). Turns out flaxseed oil has twice the fat of other oils. Even with all this, and minimal activity, the weight gain does not come easy. At 1lb/day it'll be 2 more weeks before I gain it back. But hopefully it'll pick up.
The gas/bowel discomfort makes it hard to sleep. The doctor is concerned about "free air". He says it's really rare. I'll get more X-rays today (which I opted for instead of a 3rd cat-scan - those things are equal to 175 X-rays!). Hopefully they will show less "free air". I feel like the problem isn't getting worse so that's good. The last thing I'd want to do is a 2nd surgery.
Fortunately, I've been able to talk to 3 people who have had kidney surgery (laparoscopic nephrectomies) recently. 1 was better in 3 days, but 1 took 4 weeks. The other, Jamie, well she's pretty unique :) Although they didn't have the nausea, the other symptoms seem similar. So I think my triathlete, eat-while-running, "Iron Stomach" is actually quite sensitive (see, I do have a sensitive side). I think I'll be better in a couple weeks.
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about last week...
Last week I was admitted back into the hospital (CPMC) for tests and overnight monitoring. The concern was for a punctured intestine. The doctors' concerns decreased after Robin sent the request for prayers. Thank you so much! The cat scan showed "free-air" which is a concern but yet I wasn't that sick at all so the thinking changed to it being something else. While there, it was weird push'n an IV down the same hallways I paced 2 weeks prior. I hate being confined to a pole-on-wheels.. but there are great views of San Francisco and the Bay from the 6th floor! I was sure glad to get home, though, they don't let you sleep much in a hospital.
Would some of you pray for my hospital roommate, Raymond Swords? He had a liver transplant that is being threatened by disease. He has a family in Las Vegas.
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Thanks, everyone. Robin & Anna are doing well. Ariel had a fever for just a day and is better now.
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