One of the first things that changes after a kidney transplant is the requirement for water and other fluids. Whereas fluid intake is limited when one is on dialysis, the entire thing is turned upside down after a kidney transplant. Now, one is encouraged to take in as much fluids as possible. After taking in almost 4 liters of fluids, mostly water, yesterday (corresponding to about 16 glasses of fluids as ordered), my wife's doctor is saying today that she's showing signs of dehydration. She ordered for a blood test to check on certain indicators. Good thing the test showed she's not dehydrated and the rest of the indicators are within normal. But a regimen of 3-4 liters of water a day will be her norm for the rest of her life. It may sound like a lot, but if you break it down, that's not much more than drinking a glass of water (about 250 ml) every hour, assuming you're awake for about 16 hours a day. The fluids are necessary to help the body dispose of toxins and other impurities, especially since transplant patients are taking in heavy doses of medications to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted kidney. I guess that's a small price to pay compared to being hooked up on a dialysis machine twice a week for four hours at a time.
There's a strong likelihood we will be going home tomorrow. Some of the regimen we do here at NKTI will have to be continued at home for several weeks. These include measuring fluid input and output to ensure fluid replacement and prevent dehydration as well as get into the habit of drinking, weigh-in every morning upon waking up to ensure that there is no sudden weight gain which can be likely due to water retention, a sign that the transplanted kidney is being rejected by the body, and getting one's temperature to check for fever so that minor illnesses do not complicate to major problems since the immunity system is compromised. Then, there's the matter of slowly getting into exercise to strengthen her body and combat the effects of diabetes and other diseases. Plus, of course, the weekly checkups and tests for several months. It will also be a time for my wife to learn to be with herself most of the time, as she will be in a sort of reverse isolation until the doses of her medications is decreased, since her immunity is hardly there at this stage.
For the rest of the family, the next few weeks will be a time of re-integration, as our kids go back to our place and resume a life in their own home. They've been living with my in-laws for the past few months as we are busy doing the workups for the transplant along with undergoing dialysis twice a week. Not that their lives were significantly altered, thanks in no small matter to the efforts of the extended families. I'll probably talk about this more in a later post. Suffice it to say that because of the efforts of relatives, my kids hardly knew the degree of difficulty that we went through.
We will probably be accompanied home by her donor-sister, as she's coming to the hospital tomorrow as well for her weekly checkup for the first month after her donation. The checkups will be spaced further and further apart as the months and years go by.
We are hopeful we will close this stage successfully, looking forward to a wonderful Christmas and a new year.
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