Just about 3 weeks post transplant. Wow. How did that happen. I have been having flashbacks of hospital time. I was so drugged in the hospital on top of recovering from the anesthesia. And my last night in the hospital was really the worst. You gain all this water weight post surgery and as that fluid moved around and caused some terrible sinus and ear pressure. I was up all night. My wife, Alena stayed with me that night in the hospital. I also kept getting clots in my catheter causing insane pressure on my bladder. And the nurses had to keep coming to flush me out.

The following day I was scheduled to be released. But my phosphorus levels were low and they had to give me some via IV. I was already exhausted from very little sleep all week plus the night before was literally the worst pain. But today was also education day and we had to meet with the transplant team to review recovery rules and drug treatment.

The drugs are serious. The rules around how and when to take are serious. The risks of what could happen if you don’t take as prescribed are serious. I take 9 medicines a day now. 17 pills to swallow daily plus a liquid gross medicine that looks like paint and taste like dirty flower water* None of these medicines are pain killers. I left the hospital without the need for pain meds and I am grateful for that. Also most these medicines will go away after a year and I will be left with 2-3 maintenance drugs for life. 🙌🏽

I have to keep track of my daily fluid intake and my daily urine output. We keep a measuring bucket (provided by the hospital) over the toilet and every day I need to take my vitals: Blood Pressure, Temperature, Pulse and Weight.

When I say the actually surgery of getting Jack was the easiest part - I mean it.

I also want to say that my wife has been the best caretaker. There where times when family and friends need for information/updates became overwhelming. Especially when I was still in the hospital. I told her at no time should anyone’s need for an update or information surpass my needs for immediate care. So if you were sent to voicemail or your text was not returned it wasn’t personal. I needed my wife to be there for me. I was very overwhelmed with emotions and all this new information while in the hospital. I was also exhausted. You get very little sleep in the hospital. Thank you to the few close friends that have reached out to her to check in on her and see if she needed anything. I am extremely grateful that she has been able to take this time off from work to care for me. When we took our wedding vows almost 8 years ago I never imagined that this is what “in sickness and in health” would look like.

The most important thing right now is that Jack is doing great. He’s running a marathon by himself and the rest of my body is trying to catch up to him. 🙏🏽

*I don’t actually know what dirty flower tastes like. But one can assume it tastes how it smells.