Journal entry by Briant Redmond —
First off I am doing VERY well, and it is a 1 year kidneyversary!!!!!
But, here is another God moment, about a year before I had the transplant, I ended up in the ICU for a few days. It turns out I had sepsis from a bladder infection, with little to no urine passing through the bladder and one of my rejection meds a trigger for bladder infections, it happened. I did not notice it until it got to that point because I just thought that is how I am going to feel.
When I ended up in the ICU I thought maybe that was it, I was so sick. To get me back they had to stop my anti rejection drugs to combat the sepsis (the remainder of what I was on) this completely killed all my function, and is when I went on additional dialysis. That is why the Coronavirus is so scary for someone like me because they have to stop or decrease your anti-rejection meds to get your immune system going to attack the virus.
If I hadn't gotten sepsis, I may have been waiting now for the transplant because of the coronavirus instead of a year ago. Without them doing transplants right now who knows?
Again, I feel fantastic, my function has not changed at all since I left the hospital, I was so used to watching it deteriorate every month after the first transplant. I am walking daily with our dog, albeit not as long as when I was younger. Debbie and I went on a cruise in January and down to Florida in February before the virus hit, so we dodged that one too.
I still do get the headaches with the meds and the shakes, but that is a small price to pay. I thought about going back to work, but don't think I could physically do it anymore. I have had a lot of bone issues since this transplant. I used to be 6-4 before all of this started and have shrunk to 6-0. Not only does the prednisone cause the bone loss but I am on an enormous amount of Esomeprazole that causes bone loss as well. I have back and neck pain that at times gets bad just sitting at the computer for over a hour. Not to mention stress triggering my disease flares. So I am the maid and cook at home now, and am fine with that. I just enjoy seeing the sun rise and the birds chirping and the breezes, doing things around the condo now.
Still cannot put into words what it means for my daughter to have donated to me, and I know my other kids and my wife would have done the same in a minute, just as I would for them.
PS please pray for a friend Mike battling cancer. God bless and thank you
But, here is another God moment, about a year before I had the transplant, I ended up in the ICU for a few days. It turns out I had sepsis from a bladder infection, with little to no urine passing through the bladder and one of my rejection meds a trigger for bladder infections, it happened. I did not notice it until it got to that point because I just thought that is how I am going to feel.
When I ended up in the ICU I thought maybe that was it, I was so sick. To get me back they had to stop my anti rejection drugs to combat the sepsis (the remainder of what I was on) this completely killed all my function, and is when I went on additional dialysis. That is why the Coronavirus is so scary for someone like me because they have to stop or decrease your anti-rejection meds to get your immune system going to attack the virus.
If I hadn't gotten sepsis, I may have been waiting now for the transplant because of the coronavirus instead of a year ago. Without them doing transplants right now who knows?
Again, I feel fantastic, my function has not changed at all since I left the hospital, I was so used to watching it deteriorate every month after the first transplant. I am walking daily with our dog, albeit not as long as when I was younger. Debbie and I went on a cruise in January and down to Florida in February before the virus hit, so we dodged that one too.
I still do get the headaches with the meds and the shakes, but that is a small price to pay. I thought about going back to work, but don't think I could physically do it anymore. I have had a lot of bone issues since this transplant. I used to be 6-4 before all of this started and have shrunk to 6-0. Not only does the prednisone cause the bone loss but I am on an enormous amount of Esomeprazole that causes bone loss as well. I have back and neck pain that at times gets bad just sitting at the computer for over a hour. Not to mention stress triggering my disease flares. So I am the maid and cook at home now, and am fine with that. I just enjoy seeing the sun rise and the birds chirping and the breezes, doing things around the condo now.
Still cannot put into words what it means for my daughter to have donated to me, and I know my other kids and my wife would have done the same in a minute, just as I would for them.
PS please pray for a friend Mike battling cancer. God bless and thank you
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