Part 2: What’s in a hospital day?

Continuing from 8:00am…

-Usually, my doctors come in at some point in the morning to update me/pep talk me/warn me about side effects of things I’m on, etc. Today, more good news! My creatinine levels went from 8.1 to 7.2. I had sort of been hoping to skip the 7’s and go straight to 6’s, but I got a patience peptalk today. I am improving they assure me – my levels are 40% better than when I was admitted, but I guess kidneys can’t just shrink overnight. So here I am on day 6, trying to be patient, knowing that this is only half over. And that is just the hospital stay.

I also received a bit of a reprimand from the doctors. Apparently, I have too many visitors and they aren’t happy about that. SO even though I LOVE it when people come, I think it’d be best if you call before you come so I can make sure no one else is going to be here and that it’s a good time. My cell is 8322-4400 and I have it with me at all times. So don’t necessarily not come, just call first por favor!

- After my doctors left this morning, I finally got to eat breakfast. Then I use the restroom. They measure exactly how much I pee every single time, and compare it to my strict 2000 ml drink rule for the day. They are measuring input vs. output to see how my kidneys are doing I guess. I miss the days of just going to the bathroom (alone) like a normal person!

- The nurse then gave me some pills, did my blood pressure, added some things to the i.v., etc, and then I felt tired again and fell back to sleep! When I woke up, lunch was here. It’s nice to feel a little more rested. I didn’t even feel hungry yet, so I waited an hour to eat. My mom and I tried to find something on tv, but all we can find is the welcoming ceremony of the Chinese president to the White House. I guess he will be in the States for the next 4 days. Once we get tired of that, we move on to the fish channel. Eventually, we just turn it off. Everyday I hope to watch Price is Right, but I always miss it. Maybe tomorrow, right?

- Kristina, my sister-in-law, is having her baby today! In the same hospital! The original plan was for Chase & I to watch Beckett (my nephew) for them while they were at the hospital, but I got selfish and decided I would just have my hospital stay at the same time. I do feel terrible about this, but my mom is going to to be able to help some, so I feel better about that! They don’t know if they’re having a boy or girl – I’m kind of thinking another boy, but we’ll see!

- I have 2 new prayer requests: The first is for patience, which keeps being a theme of advice from doctors, friends, etc. I think I’ll be learning about patience in all new ways and I can’t say that I’m too excited about that yet. The second is for my legs. I pretty much have “hospital bed legs”. I am super shaky (even in bed) due to all the meds, and this doesn’t aid in the balance/walking area. Dr. Aragón says the bed is “bad, bad, bad” and I need to get up and stretch my legs 4 or 5 times a day, but that can be challenging when I have to be plugged into the wall for the i.v. machines. So pray that I can get up on my feet more, the swelling in my legs will go down, and that I can get to the point where I am comfortable walking and standing again!

Thanks for keeping up with the blog, and for praying for me! Continue to pray for the kidneys that couldn’t, but hopefully can again soon!