Perhaps a Surgery Delay?

So I got this text message from my bestie last night:

        ... but I just got a call from my gastroineroligist and according to a ct scan from a few days ago I have            multiple hernias.YAY!!!! So I am praying this doesn't suddenly mess up this whole surgery. FUCK ...

Of course, her health is the number one priority but I will admit that I was super stressed reading this, thinking that all of the plans we have made to drive to Seattle and proceed with the surgery on June 21st are in shambles.  I know that she needs to talk to her team at the hospital and until then ... we just don't know.  But if it delays the whole thing, then so be it.  I just hope that we can do the surgery soon (while she is in better health than what might be true a few months from now).

So now I am stressed but I guess I am always stressed.  A part of me will be super disappointed if this whole thing gets delayed but there isn't any way for me to control this situation.  What happens is going to happen.  The surgery has been feeling so "unreal" that maybe I knew that it wasn't going to happen on some level?  Or maybe I am just overthinking this whole thing?

The End of the Semester!

I think I must say this at the end of every semester but thank. god. we. are. almost. done.

Whew!  Since 2020, every semester has been a little hard.  I had great students this semester so it wasn't them that was causing any of the main issues -- I think I am just exhausted to the bone and that made it hard for me to keep my motivation.  I always try my very best with my classes but sometimes I felt during this past semester that it just wasn't enough.  To make matters worse, I ended up with Covid during Week 15 so I had to teach via Microsoft Teams for most of that week.  So many students didn't show up and I don't think even one student responded to my emails.  Sigh.  We had about a half of a week left by the time we came back and I tried to gain the momentum that we had in all of the classes but I feel like at this point that everyone was tired.  Most importantly for me, though, is that all my Covid testing is negative now!

For a few days I was super worried about whether having Covid was going to impact the donation or not.  Thankfully, I didn't have a major case (it just felt like I had a cold) so I am still able to donate and the surgery will be happening on June 21.

We are in the midst of finals at the moment and I am just waiting for some more final papers to be turned in.  I should be 100% finished with grades turned in by Thursday.  Then I can focus on creating a packing list for the drive to Seattle, squeezing in as many spin classes as I can, and finishing up some quilting projects.

So Let Me Try This Again ....

 I know that is is hard for me to just sit down and write, even if I know that it is something that will make me feel "better."  I keep trying to get a re-start on this blog and .. I keep failing.  I think that there is a lot going on for me right now -- the semester rapidly coming to an end, the kidney donation process becoming very real and almost upon me, and just life in general.

So let me take another go at this.  I mentioned before that last August (2021), I started the process of testing to see if I would be able to donate a kidney to my best friend.  There were a ton of tests before I could even get tissue matched (including a 24 hour urine collection which sounds just like what it is!).  Eventually, I was able to pass a bunch of tests and in late March 2022, Jim and I travelled to Seattle for something called an "Evaluation Day."  This is a full day of appointments to meet with an entire team of doctors to verify the health of my kidneys and of me in general.  In fact, just before I came, I was sent this list of appointments.  

That's a lot of doctors, right?  Most of the tests were pretty easy on my end though the 23 vials of bloodwork was a little daunting (I have never given that much blood at one time!).  I had to see the Hepatologist which was an addition to this day that others might not have to do because of some high numbers I was showing on some prior tests but we discovered that my body just normally has higher numbers and I am 100% normal.

The last appointment was with Dr. Kuhr who is Tanya's surgeon (and I think mine?).  He offered me this amazing 3D image of my own kidneys that was taken during this evaluation day (this is just a still):

Pretty damn cool, eh?  That is Ethel on the right (my left) and she is the one being donated to Tanya.  I am keeping Lucy who is on my right (but left in the picture above).

I ended up passing the Evaluation Day and we found out about a week later that Tanya and I were a perfect match.  What were the fucking chances?!  I mean, yikes!  I am still in shock that this is going to happen and I am both delighted and scared shitless.

So .., perhaps this blog can be a way for me to document what this journey is going to be like!