Thought I should round off this blog with an update of where I have got to.
Not a backward step in sight and am still well ahead of the plan with regards to timing.
I am now down to 3 weekly / monthly visits to Melbourne however still have appointments in Bendigo on most days of the week. The specialists tell me I probably still have 6 to 8 weeks of being messed around with and some minor procedures that need to be done.
Should all this go well and they not find anything astray, I plan to return to work mid June. This is well ahead of the August date that they have penciled me in for but I do have support from the boss specialist who understands that staying at home, and doing not much at all, is equally as detrimental to my health - not to mention my waistline !!!
So, to wrap things up, I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes, visits, emails, phone calls of support and the gifts. It has really meant a lot to me and I am sure has helped me to maintain a positive outlook which has ensured the success of the operation. I need to remain mindful that a transplant is a treatment and not a cure and therefore must keep my eye on my health for the rest of my life. Not such a bad thing and when contrasted against how magnificent I feel, is hardly a trade off.
Now the pitch.... I have been given a second chance at life through the phenomenal gift of a donor organ from an equally phenomenal person. If you are ever in the position to do the same, let the opportunity warm your heart and at least have a think about it. I'm sure these words will come back to you every time you have me on the phone taking serious amounts of mickey out of you ;-)
Thanks again...
Carlos
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Lucy in the sky with diamonds...
Oh my Aunties hat these drugs are good !!
2 weeks home now and am well over the operation, just dealing with the fantastic side effects of the medication. Anyone need a tattoo ??.. I could give one now without an electric ink gun with the shakes I have.
The immune suppression drugs really mess with your head. Apart from the shakes, I am also extremely "jumpy". As in, if I'm walking down the street and someone closes a car door a bit loud, I hit the floor faster than Colonel Gadaffi at chinese new year !! The family find this entertaining but it's not much fun from my perspective. It will get better as the Docs back off the number of tablets I'm currently on. I hope :)
Now only once a week in Melbourne being a Friday. It was a bit silly going down on a Monday as no new results were in and we were just revisiting the discussion that was previously held on the Friday anyway. I have discovered that unless you raise the "insanity" of the process, they are more than happy to have you travel for 4 hours, wait another 3 hours in the waiting rooms for a 5 minute appointment. Madness !
Looking at the big picture though, all of this is just a minor inconvenience when traded off against how much better I feel... Will be back on a bike in no time. Now that should be interesting when I stop to let a pink elephant or unicorn into the lane I'm in....
Keep smiling... I am
2 weeks home now and am well over the operation, just dealing with the fantastic side effects of the medication. Anyone need a tattoo ??.. I could give one now without an electric ink gun with the shakes I have.
The immune suppression drugs really mess with your head. Apart from the shakes, I am also extremely "jumpy". As in, if I'm walking down the street and someone closes a car door a bit loud, I hit the floor faster than Colonel Gadaffi at chinese new year !! The family find this entertaining but it's not much fun from my perspective. It will get better as the Docs back off the number of tablets I'm currently on. I hope :)
Now only once a week in Melbourne being a Friday. It was a bit silly going down on a Monday as no new results were in and we were just revisiting the discussion that was previously held on the Friday anyway. I have discovered that unless you raise the "insanity" of the process, they are more than happy to have you travel for 4 hours, wait another 3 hours in the waiting rooms for a 5 minute appointment. Madness !
Looking at the big picture though, all of this is just a minor inconvenience when traded off against how much better I feel... Will be back on a bike in no time. Now that should be interesting when I stop to let a pink elephant or unicorn into the lane I'm in....
Keep smiling... I am
Sunday, March 13, 2011
... a week at home
What a difference being home makes. The sky is blue, the sun is out and not a "medico" to be seen !!
Have enjoyed a trouble free week and have taken it easy. Still had my plethora of appointments however they were no hassle and everything went well. Actually got to live a little this weekend. Went to the Top Gear show in Melbourne with the boys and a couple of good friends. Also went down for coffee with the guys from the bike club this morning and it was great to catch up with them again.
Hopefully now I can gradually weave my appointments into somewhat of a normal life for a while. Still being very careful not to over do it though as I'm no where near fit just yet. Need to get back on my diet as what I thought was fluid I think is here for good if I don't do something and the steroids give me a wicked appetite... damn.. ;-)
COME ON BANGLADESH !!!!!!
Have enjoyed a trouble free week and have taken it easy. Still had my plethora of appointments however they were no hassle and everything went well. Actually got to live a little this weekend. Went to the Top Gear show in Melbourne with the boys and a couple of good friends. Also went down for coffee with the guys from the bike club this morning and it was great to catch up with them again.
Hopefully now I can gradually weave my appointments into somewhat of a normal life for a while. Still being very careful not to over do it though as I'm no where near fit just yet. Need to get back on my diet as what I thought was fluid I think is here for good if I don't do something and the steroids give me a wicked appetite... damn.. ;-)
COME ON BANGLADESH !!!!!!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Baby did a bad bad thing..
Day 2 and I went into the shed..
God I love the smell of 2 stroke in the morning !!
All good, only started 2 or maybe 6 bikes and just re-aquainted myself with the inner biker, nothing too stressful.
Grinning like a cow chewing cactus.. ;-)
God I love the smell of 2 stroke in the morning !!
All good, only started 2 or maybe 6 bikes and just re-aquainted myself with the inner biker, nothing too stressful.
Grinning like a cow chewing cactus.. ;-)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Cheque please ......
I have escaped....
All did go well this morning and they have let me out. This is great and also gives me confidence that I am going well as the Doctors are ultra conservative and if they are happy for me to return to Bendigo and just check in with them twice a week, I must be going well.
Got home this afternoon to be met at the door by a huge hamper of fresh fruit and goodies from my friends and SAP superstars from Perth. Thanks heaps guys, very much appreciated !!
With my renewed vigour for life, I think I also need a new role model / inspiration. Charlie Sheen is front runner at the moment with a watching brief on Matthew Newton and Ricky Nixon. ;-)
It's great to be home and out of the "Hospital System". It's now a matter of checking in with the Melbourne doctors on a Monday and Friday with midweek visits to my specialist in Bendigo. I'm very fortunate in that my Bendigo based specialist used to lead the renal (kidney) team at the Austin in Melbourne so he has an enormous amount of respect amongst the Melbourne team which has no doubt influenced the decision to let me come home.
I have promised everyone that I wont get carried away by being home and agreed to not go into the shed for at least two weeks. We'll see how that goes eh ?
Truly a great day and feeling a million dollars.
Bring it on world !!!!
All did go well this morning and they have let me out. This is great and also gives me confidence that I am going well as the Doctors are ultra conservative and if they are happy for me to return to Bendigo and just check in with them twice a week, I must be going well.
Got home this afternoon to be met at the door by a huge hamper of fresh fruit and goodies from my friends and SAP superstars from Perth. Thanks heaps guys, very much appreciated !!
With my renewed vigour for life, I think I also need a new role model / inspiration. Charlie Sheen is front runner at the moment with a watching brief on Matthew Newton and Ricky Nixon. ;-)
It's great to be home and out of the "Hospital System". It's now a matter of checking in with the Melbourne doctors on a Monday and Friday with midweek visits to my specialist in Bendigo. I'm very fortunate in that my Bendigo based specialist used to lead the renal (kidney) team at the Austin in Melbourne so he has an enormous amount of respect amongst the Melbourne team which has no doubt influenced the decision to let me come home.
I have promised everyone that I wont get carried away by being home and agreed to not go into the shed for at least two weeks. We'll see how that goes eh ?
Truly a great day and feeling a million dollars.
Bring it on world !!!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
.... are we there yet ?
Another exciting week in the Hotel California.. I must be getting better as I am becoming
increasingly cranky with being stuck in the hospital system.
Good news this week is that all going well with my appointments tomorrow, I should be able to
check out of the Medi-Hotel tomorrow and head home... for good !!
I will need to come down to Melbourne on a Monday and Friday for at least another 3 weeks
but can do my mid week blood tests and check up with my specialist in Bendigo. This a great
result and while a little inconvenient for the family ( I can't drive for another 3 weeks), will be so
much better than climbing the walls stuck in Melbourne.
All must be going well as this is at least 2 weeks ahead of the original schedule that was laid
out for me.
Thanks to all for their continued kind wishes and cards etc.. I hope my friends in Perth are
coping with the heat OK. We haven't really had a summer in Victoria and it's now getting
cooler of an evening and even the days are fresh.
Stay tuned.. next post will be from home where I'll be a much happier camper.
increasingly cranky with being stuck in the hospital system.
Good news this week is that all going well with my appointments tomorrow, I should be able to
check out of the Medi-Hotel tomorrow and head home... for good !!
I will need to come down to Melbourne on a Monday and Friday for at least another 3 weeks
but can do my mid week blood tests and check up with my specialist in Bendigo. This a great
result and while a little inconvenient for the family ( I can't drive for another 3 weeks), will be so
much better than climbing the walls stuck in Melbourne.
All must be going well as this is at least 2 weeks ahead of the original schedule that was laid
out for me.
Thanks to all for their continued kind wishes and cards etc.. I hope my friends in Perth are
coping with the heat OK. We haven't really had a summer in Victoria and it's now getting
cooler of an evening and even the days are fresh.
Stay tuned.. next post will be from home where I'll be a much happier camper.
Friday, February 25, 2011
We gotta get out of this place...
You ripper... I'm free for a day !!
Get to go home this morning and come back tomorrow afternoon.
It's only a brief "escape" but will break up the stay in Melbourne.
Get to go home this morning and come back tomorrow afternoon.
It's only a brief "escape" but will break up the stay in Melbourne.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Who's up for a jog ??
Just a short post letting you know that I'm travelling great. Blood results are really good with only one measure out of the lot (approx 25) being just out of "normal" range. Prior to the transplant, all 25 were
out of the normal range.
Still on daily Doc appointments and tests for another couple of weeks, then all being well, drop back to 3
tests a week where I'm hopeful the middle one can be done in Bendigo.
Bring on the world !!
out of the normal range.
Still on daily Doc appointments and tests for another couple of weeks, then all being well, drop back to 3
tests a week where I'm hopeful the middle one can be done in Bendigo.
Bring on the world !!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Welcome to the Hotel California
You can check in but you can never leave :)
What a nice surprise, I don't have to dialyse.
Well yesterday I got all of the way through the
1978 copy of "Russian Sailing Craft" that looked to
be the most interesting of the selection.
In the arvo I was blessed by a visit from Mrs. Watson,
unfortunately she brought her husband. While their
company was great, Watto's offer to run me through the
"Supply chain process" just one more time soon had me
heading back to the library picking out a National Geographic
from the 60's.....
On the topic of this blog, all is still going well,
they are just starting to monitor a couple of things
a little more closely but that is to
be expected. All good !!
What a nice surprise, I don't have to dialyse.
Well yesterday I got all of the way through the
1978 copy of "Russian Sailing Craft" that looked to
be the most interesting of the selection.
In the arvo I was blessed by a visit from Mrs. Watson,
unfortunately she brought her husband. While their
company was great, Watto's offer to run me through the
"Supply chain process" just one more time soon had me
heading back to the library picking out a National Geographic
from the 60's.....
On the topic of this blog, all is still going well,
they are just starting to monitor a couple of things
a little more closely but that is to
be expected. All good !!
Welcome to the Hotel California
You can check in but you can never leave :)
What a nice surprise, I don't have to dialyse.
Well yesterday I got all of the way through the
1978 copy of "Russian Sailing Craft" that looked to
be the most interesting of the selection.
In the arvo I was blessed by a visit from Mrs. Watson,
unfortunately she brought her husband. While their
company was great, Watto's offer to run me through the
"Supply chain process" just one more time soon had me
heading back to the library picking out a National Geographic
from the 60's.....
On the topic of this blog, all is still going well,
they are just starting to monitor a couple of things
a little more closely but that is to
be expected. All good !!
What a nice surprise, I don't have to dialyse.
Well yesterday I got all of the way through the
1978 copy of "Russian Sailing Craft" that looked to
be the most interesting of the selection.
In the arvo I was blessed by a visit from Mrs. Watson,
unfortunately she brought her husband. While their
company was great, Watto's offer to run me through the
"Supply chain process" just one more time soon had me
heading back to the library picking out a National Geographic
from the 60's.....
On the topic of this blog, all is still going well,
they are just starting to monitor a couple of things
a little more closely but that is to
be expected. All good !!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Yeehah...
I got discharged today and going well.
I am now in the Medi-Hotel which is basically a place where regional
patients stay when they need to remain close to the hospital. I need to
check into the hospital every day for the next 4 weeks for tests that will
let them adjust my medications. This will see most morning"s occupied
with the afternoons free to myself.
The Medi-Hotel is on the same campus as the hospital however "Hotel"
is drawing a long bow... but it's only 4 weeks and maybe less if they get
me sorted quickly.
Looking forward to getting home at some point, even if it's only for a day.
I am now in the Medi-Hotel which is basically a place where regional
patients stay when they need to remain close to the hospital. I need to
check into the hospital every day for the next 4 weeks for tests that will
let them adjust my medications. This will see most morning"s occupied
with the afternoons free to myself.
The Medi-Hotel is on the same campus as the hospital however "Hotel"
is drawing a long bow... but it's only 4 weeks and maybe less if they get
me sorted quickly.
Looking forward to getting home at some point, even if it's only for a day.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Traveling well...
Well I'm now officially transplanted. Apart from a shocking reaction to the pain medication, all has gone really well and the new kidney is working already. My poison levels in my blood have dropped to almost normal. I'm feeling really good. It's the first time I've had a clear head in about five years.
I will stay in hospital for a few days yet then they move me over to the respite centre as I have to report back into the hospital at 10.00am every day for the next four weeks.
The world is good !
I will stay in hospital for a few days yet then they move me over to the respite centre as I have to report back into the hospital at 10.00am every day for the next four weeks.
The world is good !
Monday, February 7, 2011
What's black, over a foot long and throbs ?
My Arm.... ;-)
Now that I have the attention of all the potty minded folks out there, just a short post to let you know that everything is on track.
I will continue with the dialysis today and tomorrow and be admitted for the surgery tomorrow evening.
Wish me luck...
PS: Remember to sign up as a follower.. I'm going for the record of the most followers of the most boring blog. We can do it !!
Now that I have the attention of all the potty minded folks out there, just a short post to let you know that everything is on track.
I will continue with the dialysis today and tomorrow and be admitted for the surgery tomorrow evening.
Wish me luck...
PS: Remember to sign up as a follower.. I'm going for the record of the most followers of the most boring blog. We can do it !!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
I'm Popeye the sailor man...
Yep, picture Popeye's forearms and that's what my left arm looks like... and no, I'm not left handed ;)..
Seems these ugly vein thingy's they put in your arm can get punctured by the dialysis needle going straight through it instead of along it. Well that happened yesterday and that rip snorting dialysis machine decided that the return path for my immaculately cleaned blood should just be my arm. Needless to say, just before my arm split like a carrot, I sought some attention from the staff...
Not a good day yesterday but today went OK as they were still able to use the arm even though it looks like a Sherrin and will very shortly be black (or for the politically correct - pigmentaly challenged) from the elbow to the end of my fingers - wooohoo !!
Seems these ugly vein thingy's they put in your arm can get punctured by the dialysis needle going straight through it instead of along it. Well that happened yesterday and that rip snorting dialysis machine decided that the return path for my immaculately cleaned blood should just be my arm. Needless to say, just before my arm split like a carrot, I sought some attention from the staff...
Not a good day yesterday but today went OK as they were still able to use the arm even though it looks like a Sherrin and will very shortly be black (or for the politically correct - pigmentaly challenged) from the elbow to the end of my fingers - wooohoo !!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
I've finally found it...
Just as I was about to abandon my quest,
I have finally found something more boring
than having Watto explain something to me !!
Hours spent hooked up to a dialysis machine
Makes a conversation with the minister for elongated
sentences seem almost bareable.
More of the same tomorrow.
I have finally found something more boring
than having Watto explain something to me !!
Hours spent hooked up to a dialysis machine
Makes a conversation with the minister for elongated
sentences seem almost bareable.
More of the same tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
It's just like riding a bike...
Had a stress test today where they take you up to your max heart rate on an exercise bike, inject you with this radio active stuff and then run you through a dirty big scanner..
Imagine me, stripped down to my lycra shorts, wires hanging off me everywhere, I must have looked like Shane Crawford at that stage as I could see the Nurses struggling to contain themselves.. and with the radio active stuff, I'm now very scared of kryptonite !!!
Imagine me, stripped down to my lycra shorts, wires hanging off me everywhere, I must have looked like Shane Crawford at that stage as I could see the Nurses struggling to contain themselves.. and with the radio active stuff, I'm now very scared of kryptonite !!!
Well that didn't go to plan....
Met with the specialists in Melbourne for the last time today. They told me that I'm a bit too crook to undergo an anesthetic at the moment and have prescribed daily dialysis from Thursday until next Thursday to ensure my body's chemical levels are OK to operate.
A bit of a shock first up but realise that I need to do what I need to do to nail that date of the 10th..
So have finished up a work and getting myself ready to be dialysed for a week... in Melbourne. I asked why the dialysis couldn't be done in Bendigo and quizzical looks all round suggested they haven't caught up with the fact that Bendigo even has electricity yet, let alone a pretty good hospital or two.
A bit of a shock first up but realise that I need to do what I need to do to nail that date of the 10th..
So have finished up a work and getting myself ready to be dialysed for a week... in Melbourne. I asked why the dialysis couldn't be done in Bendigo and quizzical looks all round suggested they haven't caught up with the fact that Bendigo even has electricity yet, let alone a pretty good hospital or two.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Every long journey starts with a small step...
Had my last meeting with my specialist in Bendigo today prior to the transplant. All went well and now just have a series of final tests over the coming week to get through.
The next time I see him I'll be a new man !!!
The next time I see him I'll be a new man !!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I'm sorry sir, the computer says no...
Had some final tests done in Bendigo this morning after confirming with them on Tuesday that they could do the tests. Got a call at 2.00pm telling me that they actually couldn't do that test and I needed to be at the Austin Pathology by 3.30pm... I am now of the belief the health system has their very own teleporter. Obviously they believe it's possible to get from Bendigo to Heidelberg in 1.5 hours. Lucky I have my own teleporter - it's called a Chrysler !!
Monday, January 24, 2011
The fun starts...
Thought I'd set up an easy way to let my friends and family know how I'm going.
I'll try to keep postings brief but can't guarantee there wont be the odd awful joke...
The current plan sees the transplant being done on the Thursday the 10th of Feb. It may be a day or two after that before I am in any state to provide an update.
I look forward to your comments and keeping me up to date with what is happening in the real world.
I'll try to keep postings brief but can't guarantee there wont be the odd awful joke...
The current plan sees the transplant being done on the Thursday the 10th of Feb. It may be a day or two after that before I am in any state to provide an update.
I look forward to your comments and keeping me up to date with what is happening in the real world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)