Hospital Experiences

Spending several days in the hospital is always an interesting experience. I thought I would share some my experiences with modern medicine. Of course most hospital time is spent just laying in bed and waiting. But there were several times that something special or out of the ordinary happened. These are the things that I thought were interesting enough to write about.

The Saline Jungle
The first step that is usually included in every hospital stay is getting an IV put in your arm and getting a bag of saline dripping. This is to keep you hydrated while in the hospital. It is usually the last thing to be removed as well. This was true for me as well. But I also got something additional. I can't remember the name exactly, but it was called something like a "triple J-port." This was a special IV that had three different lines going in at different points along the tube inserted into my neck. Yep, thats right, my neck. It went into the jugular artery and was several inches above my heart. This was to put a particular immune-suppressing drug into my system that was too hard on the veins in the arm. It needed to be immediately dispersed through my body. But in addition to that they had a very large number of other saline bags attached to me, all daisy chained together to go through the triple J port. The strangest combination of fluids going in was a dextrose saline bag, essentially sugar water. But to make sure my sugar levels didn't get too high, there was also a bag containing insulin. This counteracts the sugar. I thought I would show you a picture of my "IV Tree" with all the bags of saline. In this picture, I count 8 different saline bags, each with their own pump, plus the monitor hookups. Needless to say, I had a lot of tubes and wires going all over the place.




The Respiratory Therapist
One visit I did not expect or know about was the respiratory therapist. I did know the hospital staff would bring the breathing device that everyone gets in the hospital to avoid pneumonia, where you have to breath in and watch two little devices rise up to the top. But the respiratory therapist was completely different. This man came in to room about 7pm and introduced himself. He said he was the respiratory therapist and had a treatment for me to do. I watched as he pulled a little tube out of his pocket and began to fill a small container with greenish fluid. Then he hooked it up to an oxygen line and connected the two together somehow, on one end it had a mouth piece and the other end a round hole. Finally he hooked up a large blue tube to the end of the bottle of green fluid through the round hole. He told me to put one end in my mouth and breathe normally. Then he turned on the oxygen and I began my first breathing treatment. As I breathed in a smoky mist would enter into my lungs and when I exhaled the smoky mist would shoot out the end of the blue tube. It really looking liked I was smoking some new fangled pipe. I laughed to myself as I tried to blow smoke rings out the blue tube while the respiratory therapist wasn't looking. I was unsuccessful. This treatment was supposed to happen every 4-5 hours, so I had a total of five treatments while in the ICU. I would say the 4am treatment was the most unpleasant. Here is a dark picture of me having a breathing treatment. I didn't turn on a light and didn't have a flash.




The Exercise Class
Anyone who has been in the hospital overnight knows that you never sleep very well because almost every hour the nurse comes in and has to do something. Draw blood, check vitals, change saline bags, or check on something. I had one really great ICU nurse named Stephanie. She was one of the best nurse experiences I had. I spent some time talking to her every time she came in the room. It was like clockwork. Every hour on the hour she would come in, I would usually be awake or wake up. I had a slew of questions to ask her about my condition and what was to happen next. I have been reading this book by Malcolm Gladwell called "Blink." It is all about the split second decisions that we make and how we can know if we will like a person in the first moments of meeting them. Stephanie was one that I knew instantly that I would like. She just had a presence about her that was comforting and made it feel that every thing was going to be okay. So I almost immediately trusted her. I had her take pictures of all the things I couldn't see, like the IV in my neck, my staples on my belly where the new kidney had been inserted, and then asked her about all of them. Once it started to get late, I didn't have as many questions and slept a little more. But since I had taken so many naps throughout the day, I did wake up at 2am when she came in the room and had trouble going back to sleep. After she left I just quietly sat in my room thinking about a lot of things. After awhile I heard a lot of giggling and laughing going on at the nurses' station outside my room. Some people think it is impolite that doctors and nurses laugh while at the hospital, but I love it and know that it is needed. They are around so many stressful situations involving life and death that laughter can be a great stress reducer. But this was not one of those times. As I lay in bed trying desperately to listen and look through my plaid curtain that was pulled shut, I could see a very faint outline of nurses in the hallways. In the ICU, there are sliding glass doors for every room so you can really see out. I could see nurses lined up, walking past my room, but they weren't walking they were doing power lunges and raising their hands in the air. I don't know how many nurses were out there power lunging together at 2:30am, but I figured it was about 6-8 of them. After the power lunges came stretching and other calisthenics. I thought that was great! I don't know if that is a regular occurrence or not but I thought it was probably a good use of time at 2:30 in the morning to keep alert and have a good time. I tried to take some pictures of the exercise class, but they don't show much. Here is one of the pictures I took at 2:30am. I know it is really hard to see anything in this photo, but you could see the movements with the fluorescent lights in the background.



Room number: North 376
After the ICU I was moved to the regular floor of the hospital. The day after my kidney transplant I was actually up and walking around the hospital at 11am. Then I walked from my room in the ICU to room North 376. Scripps green hospital is divided up into North, West and South. Actually I have only seen West and North now that I think about it. I guess Scripps Green East is the fountain and coffee cart out front. Well, actually I made a stop before I reached N376, I stopped in N377. The room next door to mine. Because in N377 was my donor recovering from his surgery, minus one kidney. He was in his room, me pushing a wheelchair, a nurse following me with my IV tree. We were stoked to see each other. It was awesome. We were both still on pretty heavy pain killers, in fact we each had our own PCA. PCA stands for Patient-controlled analgesia, which means we have a little button that when it turns green we can push it and morphine is injected into us. So you can control your own pain level. After you push the button you have to wait a predetermined amount of time before the light turns green again. I had to wait six minutes before I was given the green light. Studies have shown that a PCA actually makes the patient feel much better and they use considerably less pain medication then when administered by a nurse. So after I visited with my donor for a couple of minutes I went to my room right next door. It was great having a friend next door to me. He would walk over into my room sometimes and once we actually ate our liquid diet dinner in the same room. It made the hospital stay and pain recovery fun. We were both required to take walks to make the healing process faster and get us moving. When one of us was ready to go for a walk, the first place we stopped was the other's room to see if the other wanted to go with us. We almost always did. So we would walk around 3 North, a short loop that has nothing to look at. But talking was great.
"How is your pain?"
"Oh, dude it hurts so bad when I get up or sit down."
"What about you?"
"Same here."
"Oh dude your green light just came on."
"Sweet!"

Little conversations like that were regular. But we had many topics of recovery and working kidney production to discuss as well. We laughed, even though it hurt, about the little things that had happened to us, or the lack of sleep we got. It made the whole kidney transplant and donation something more special. I realized that my donor and I have a special bond that is like no other in life. We all experiences different bonds in our lives, family, siblings, marriage, friends. But this is a bond that few get to experience. One sacrificing part of themselves, to give life to another. It is so special to me and I know that my donor likes it too. I will never forget this time in my life, and I doubt my donor will either. Even as I write this I feel that words do not express the bond. It is only one that can be experienced. It is like trying to describe what being a father is like to someone with out children. You just have to experience it.

Thanks dude for your amazing gift. I will be forever changed.

An Amazing Day

Tuesday September 14th, 2010 will be a day I remember for the rest of my life.

It started at 4:00am when my alarm went off on my phone. The funny thing is I had actually put "kidney transplant" in my calendar on my iPhone and set an alarm to go off to remind me. I don't know what I was thinking when I put that in??? Like I needed a reminder. So I went back to sleep until 4:30am, when my actual alarm went off. In for a quick shower with special soap to really clean my skin.

My brother Jim wins the award for first contact. I got out of the shower to a text message letting me know he was praying already at 4:45am.

To the hospital. As I walked in, I met my donor and his wife walking in at the same time. We were both excited.

I checked in to the ICU, which is where I would be coming to after the surgery. Room 17, with a great view of Torrey Pines golf course and the ocean in the background. Scripps green has probably the best view from a hospital bed in the world.

After signing papers, changing into my back-less gown, and getting an IV. It was time....to wait. My wife Sarah was with me, which was great, along with my dad, aunt, and a friend Mary. We talked and the time went pretty quick.

My first dose of pills and injections. There were lots of them. A small price to pay. I was very used to taking lots of pills, but the injections I received in my stomach were a first. It amazingly didn't hurt, not as I had expected.

Of the 2 hours of sleep I managed to get the night before, all I dreamed about was the surgery being stopped or postponed. So I fell asleep in the hospital bed and replaced those dreams with much more positive ones.

The doctors and nurses steadily came in and introduced themselves. I was glad to meet them. They had originally told me I would be going down to the OR (Operating Room) at 7:30am, but that turned out to be the time for my donor to go down to the OR. I would go down to surgery an hour later.

It was time. I remember being very excited when the nurse came and wheeled me to the elevator. The anesthesiologist was walking and pushing me too. I noticed that when we got in the elevator he forgot to push the button to the first floor. So the 3 of us just sat in the elevator for awhile. Until the nurse realized we weren't going down, she pushed the button.

I was wheeled down to the surgery floor sporting a silver surgery hat on my head, it was like a filled Jiffy Pop, round and puffy. Everyone else had hats that were way cooler than mine. Camouflage, chargers bolts, duck patterns, stripes...but mine was chrome dome.

This is where things went fast. After going into the prep room, where I was given a "cocktail," which was really some injection to make me relax and start the anesthetizing process. The cocktail also made it so I didn't mind being shaved and washed with extra soap.

I was wheeled into the OR. And remember seeing the hallway that led to the other Operating Room where my donor was already in process. I wanted to call out his name and say something like "here we go," but I did not. In other operations and procedures I remember someone saying "you ready Mike?" or "here we go." But this time nothing. I was out like a light.

I woke up and remember trying my hardest to focus on the clock to see what time it was. How long had it been. I couldn't get my eyes to cooperate. I might have been cross eyed because there were two clocks, but even if I could get one clock, I still couldn't even make out numbers or hands on the clock. Later I figured out it was about 1:30pm.

Had it happened!? Yes!!!

I could feel soreness on my stomach. It felt like I had been doing 5,000 sit-ups all morning. My stomach was sore, but I was still very groggy. There was one more procedure for me to do, which involved inserting an IV into my neck. It actually went into the jugular artery and then went down close to my heart. This was necessary to give me certain injections that would immediately be passed throughout my body.

Then I was back out again. The next thing I remember was my wife Sarah walking in the room. It was about 3:30pm. I have no recollection of our conversation, but her sitting in the room with me was comforting and felt good.

When I woke up, I only could think of one thing, "is the new kidney working?" Well, the best way to tell is if I am producing urine. I know this is not the most pleasant of topics to talk about, but it is how you measure the production of the kidney. Well before the surgery I only produced about 150 mL per day. That translates into about 5 fluid ounces. After the surgery, on the first day alone, I was producing about 300mL per HOUR! Whoa! That is a lot of pee!

Every day after that I have been producing somewhere between 200mL - 300mL per hour and about 3,000mL per day. So yes, praise God the kidney works extremely well.

For sale

FOR SALE:

Used dialysis machine and supplies.
Contact me if interested.





I am working on another post that describes the latest events of my journey. Waiting for a keyboard instead of iPhone.

The kidney is in!

This is Sarah writing for mike. He's doing great! Groggy and in pain (as well as the donor) but the kidney is working and both guys are recovering normally so far. We still need your prayers for recovery and that Mike's body won't reject the kidney, which is a possibility at any point in the life of the kidney, but as I understand it, less likely as time goes on. We are also praying that he won't get sick because the immune suppressing medication he has to take forever to decrease the chance of rejection makes him much more susceptible to illness and less likely to recover quickly if/when he does get sick.

Thank you all so much for your awesome support of us and the donor's family. We thank God for you and for the miracle of science that we are able to benefit from.

More soon!
Sarah

The count down continues...

It is now two days before I am scheduled to have my kidney transplant. This is the closest I have ever been before, which makes this an exciting time. Two months ago I was scheduled to have the transplant but four days before, I was postponed.

I went to the doctor for all my pre-operation stuff on Thursday and it was a pretty routine set up. The lab for blood-work, meet with the surgeon, get admitted to the hospital, EKG and x-ray. I was also pre screened for the bloodbank and am now wearing a bracelet with some number on it to quickly be able to match blood in case I need it for some reason. I am hoping that will not be an issue.

The doctors gave me a small blue bottle of soap that I am supposed to use the night before and the morning of the surgery. Although with a 5am appointment to show up at the hospital, I am not looking forward to waking up at 4am to take a shower with special soap. But a small sacrifice is worth it for sure.

I did go to church today. It was a great day. So many people supportive and offering prayers for me. My favorite line was from Lori, "We are gonna give God a headache on Tuesday with all the prayers." Many people were surprised to see me at church, since I am taking the immune-suppresive drugs already. I was extra careful though, after shacking hands with people making sure to wash my hands or use antibacterial gel.

I wonder when I will start to get really nervous. I am not nervous yet, especially since I go to the doctor and/or hospital so much that it just seems routine so far. I am willing to bet that Tuesday morning may be the time for the butterflies to start fluttering around. I wonder if I will sleep well on Monday night? At least I will have the chargers game to keep me distracted while on my final dialysis session.

Ah, final dialysis session. Now that has a nice ring to it!

Well, the countdown continues...

Dreams

Only five days until Sept. 14th, the date my kidney transplant is scheduled. It is really an exciting time for me to dream about all the possibilities that the new kidney will bring.

The things I dream about are not having to be tied down to a machine 6 nights a week on dialysis. I have always told people that six nights per week on dialysis didn't seem that bad. But now that there is the possibility of it ending, it is an amazing amount of time that I was on that machine. It almost seems overwhelming to think back about how much time I have had to endure on the couch at our house, but even more so how much time my wife has gone through prepping the machine, waiting while I dialyze, and then the end of the treatment process too.

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that they technology exists to keep me alive, but will be thankful when I am no longer dependent on that.

I dream about going out in the evening. This is something that I of course used to take for granted. A quick trip to the store to pick up milk, dinner with my wife at a restaurant, going over to a friends house. Even just driving with my headlights on. I love the feeling of warm summer nights with the car window down and the air being pushed through the car, sometimes cheating and putting the heater on to balance the temperature. Ah, I miss that.

I dream of being able to do projects around the house after the kids have gone to bed.

To actually have an evening of reading, with two hands on a book. I used to try to read on dialysis, but it is tough to hold a book with one hand and turn the pages. Not that it is impossible, but it can be challenging, especially when your hand cramps up.

I dream of drinking as much water as I want.

A couple of years ago, before I found out my kidneys weren't working, I worked at an Audio/Visual rental place. One show we had to set up for was, ironically, the National Kidney Foundation Fundraiser. It was on the lot of Warner Bros and it was an easy gig. I remember one of the main speakers at the fundraiser was George Lopez. He tells the story that he needed a kidney and his wife donated one to him and the one thing he was totally amazed by was the amount of energy he suddenly got back. I wonder what that is going to be like. Will the same happen to me? So I dream about energy.

I also dream about surfing more. I have been surfing since I was 12 years old and love it. I love surfing on short boards, long boards and just sitting in the water with friends. But with my kidney failure I just don't have as much energy as I once did. So I dream about the times in the future that I will have paddling out. A great addition is that the donor who is giving me the kidney loves surfing too. Although it is not verified I am hoping that some of the surf "stoke" gets transferred over to me through the kidney.

But some of the dreams that I am most excited about I am not even aware of yet. The new aspects of life that will be revealed to me after the transplant, but in my kidney failed perspective can't even imagine yet. I am sure that many of those dreams will be revealed to me as I go through them.

Now the results from my retest

So I went to the pharmacy last week to pick up my kit to prepare my body for the big retest. I won't go into detail here about the whole endeavor because it is not the most pleasant thing to write about. I would imagine it wouldn't be very pleasant to read about it either, and it especially is not pleasant to go through it!

It does involve fasting for 24 hours, which every time I have had to have a medical fast it has gotten easier and easier to go the 24 hours without eating. But there are certain items that I am allowed to eat and drink during this 24 hours. Any clear liquids like 7-up, sprite, ginger ale and clear broth are allowed up until 4 hours before the test. I was also allowed to eat jello, hard clear candy, and popsicles. However, none of the previously listed can have red in them. I guess that red food coloring could make it appear that there is an inflammation or swelling during the test. So green and orange jello was my snack of choice. A funny thing about jello, besides the wiggling factor, is that is quickly loses its appeal when it is all you can eat.

"Hmmm, I am getting a little hungry. More jello I guess." Never really fun after the third or fourth serving. It is also hard to find popsicles that aren't red. Most of the flavors are fruit punch, strawberry, cherry...all red. There is the occasional orange and green flavor, but at best only 4 of them in a box. I didn't really spend too much time searching stores for lime and orange popsicles. I decided that I could survive the 24 hours on Jolly Ranchers Candy and Ginger Ale.

I don't recommend eating too many Jolly Ranchers in a row though. Biting down on the square piece of candy feels like you have welded your jaw shut and to try to pull your teeth apart only makes it feel like your teeth are about to pop out of socket.

So I went in for my test the following day. I have become so used to going into the hospital that I feel like I could tell others about what to do. Wait in the waiting area for 10 minutes. The nurse comes out with two gowns in hand. I always wondered why the nurses walk out carrying the gowns and not just give them to you once inside the room. It is either because they want the entire waiting room to know that I am about to walk around with my backside hanging out, or because they keep them nice and warm and it temporarily warms their hands from the freezing AC in the exam rooms. Maybe a little bit of both. Next into the locker room to change into my gowns. From the locker room to the prep room for blood pressure, IV hook up, questions and another warm blanket. Then into the procedure room.

My doctor is awesome. He is a nice guy who genuinely cares about his patients. Fortunately they drug me up for the procedure. The last thing I remember is the doctor hooking up an iPod to some speakers and having a song by Nirvana come on. It cracks me up to think that the doctor listens to Nirvana while preforming the test on me.

So I don't know what happens next because I am out. I don't know what drug they give me to knock me out, but I am told that it is if I was blacked out drunk. Still conscious, but no memory. I always tell my wife Sarah to video me when I get home in case something funny happens, but she loves me and doesn't do it. Thanks babe.

However, I guess I was pretty out of it when I came to. It is very much like a dream. Remembering certain parts very clearly, but no memory of other moments. I can remember laying on the bed and the nurse bringing me my bag of clothes. But how and when I got dressed I have no clue. My memory only allows me to have gone from the bed to sitting in a hallway next to Sarah. I remember the doctor showing me pictures of the procedure. And then I was in the car going home. Sarah tells me that when I got in the car, which is a Prius, I commented that I really loved the backup camera that comes on when you put the car in reverse. Then I said "Money in the Bank." I guess I like that backup camera.

She told me about this later and I laughed for quite awhile, because I have no memory whatsoever of that.

The doctor told me that the results of the test looked good and that he was going to recommend to the transplant team to move forward with the transplant. I am so thankful that I remember that part of the conversation! So now it is a waiting game again.

September 7th is the tentative date of the transplant, but I haven't heard from the hospital yet to see if that is correct or not. It is amazing how everything has to come together just perfectly to have a transplant. Everyone's schedule must line up. No one can be sick or have an infection.

In a week or so I will begin a new regimen to stay healthy. Washing hands frequently. A small bottle of hand sanitizer in my pocket at all times. Running away from someone who looks slightly sick or has a cold.

I am so thankful that I know my donor. He is an awesome guy and we talk on the phone all the time. He is extremely patient and seems excited to want to donate his kidney to me. I wonder what that feels like? I am amazed that he is setting his work and home schedule around this amazing gift. Who am I to deserve something like this? I haven't done anything special, I am not a genius who is going to invent something to save the world. I am just a regular guy.

The bible says that the Lord loves a joyful giver. I certainly know someone who the Lord loves!