__ORGAN DONATIONs SAVE LIVES___

Lizard

Bathgate66 wrote:

Thanks everybody ! Just returned from Columbia- Pres -
I finally got the staples out of my gut ! !

Yay!!!! Nice article---thanks for sharing!! Did you make it to the party?

Bathgate66

Lizard wrote:

Bathgate66 wrote:

Thanks everybody ! Just returned from Columbia- Pres -
I finally got the staples out of my gut ! !

Yay!!!! Nice article---thanks for sharing!! Did you make it to the party?

Yes - I made it to the benefit, saw all of my co workers- was very touching !

Bathgate66

Ugh .
Time for my stent removal, and without getting to graphic, theres no surgery involved,
they dont cut me again, but they simply " pull " this stent out ! :shock: :shock:

Having huge amount of anxiety about this, got my Valium ready .
They said they'll give me some numbing gel , but i somehow think that will not do the trick. At least the valium will take the edge off.



"Most transplant recipients will have a ureteral stent placed as part of their kidney transplant surgery. If you have a stent, you will be informed of this by the transplant team. The urine which is made in your new kidney flows to your bladder through the ureter. The ureter came with the donor kidney and was connected to your bladder with a small incision. The stent is a thin hollow tube which is placed inside the ureter to keep it open and allow the connection to your bladder to heal.

The ureteral stent needs to stay in place for about six weeks after the transplant. By this time, healing will be complete and your stent can be removed. A urologist who works with the transplant team will remove the stent during a brief procedure called a cystoscopy. You will not be put to sleep, and no incision or surgery is needed. A flexible tube (the cystoscope) is inserted into your bladder, and the stent is removed through the cystoscopy tube. You may feel some brief discomfort or pressure. This procedure takes about 30 minutes."

Claireack

Ouch.

Hope all goes well.

Bathgate66

thanks everyone !

:thumbup:

Cree Nations

hope it went well or is going well for you, think good thoughts, youre obviously a tough mo fo already

Bathgate66

http://www.uwhealth.org/healthfacts/B_E ... 00386.html

Eeeeeee -- gads !
On my way up to Columbia-Pres for stent removal and yes I am bugging out !

Bathgate66

by far one of the most uncomfortable medical procedures I've ever had
( and i have had quite a bit in my lifetime )

Lots of pressure and even now a couple hours afterwards,
still uncomfortable and burning/ stinging.

Thank god thats a one time thing only and its over with ,.....

Bathgate66

Back up to Columbia this afternoon.
Should be fun in the midst of a blizzard, AND a Yankees game !
This is my actual first meeting with my surgeon since surgery .
Im sure we will be discussing the pending Pancreas transplant
and these terrible side affects I am experiencing from the Prograf/Myfortic

Bathgate66

http://www.rockawave.com/news/2011-03-1 ... _Life.html



Andrew Greenhall (left) and Kevin Lynch (right) at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital the day before their surgeries


Co-Worker Donates Kidney, Saves Life 2011-03-18 / Community

SJEH Employees Host Fundraiser Tonight
By Nicholas Briano

Rockaway Park resident Andrew Greenhall was diagnosed with diabetes at five years old. He had no choice but to get used to living with the disease, take his insulin and live as normal a life as possible. That was until two years ago when Greenhall, now 44, suffered kidney failure as a result of the diabetes.

Fortunately for Greenhall, while working inside the imaging department of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital for the past 11 years he made a good friend in 58-year-old Kevin Lynch. The two men routinely shared the same early bird 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift at the hospital.

When Greenhall’s kidneys failed, he began dialysis treatments three days a week while still working full time at the hospital. He also began to seek a compatible donor for a kidney. Naturally, as most would do, the first people he turned to were family members. But when neither his mother, father, nor sister came up as a match, he thought that was it. He was certain he would have to wait as long as a decade for his name to reach the top of New York State’s kidney donors list. He couldn’t imagine going through dialysis treatments for that long, because they were already affecting his everyday routine.

“That really took the wind out of my sails,” Greenhall said about not finding a match. “But I was determined to get off dialysis one way or another.”

That’s when he and Lynch, who often are alone in the early morning hours of their shift, sat down and had a talk.

“What do I have to do?” Lynch said to him knowing that the dialysis treatments were starting to take their toll on Greenhall. It was as simple as that, said Lynch, a 40-year veteran of the hospital. “It was just the right thing to do.”

They decided to give it a shot, even though they knew the chances of a match were slim. But when the tests came back and revealed that Lynch was a compatible match for Greenhall it was a no brainer. Lynch knew what he had to do. He realized at that moment that he had the opportunity to grant Greenhall a brand new lease on life and never hesitated.

“He was blown away and couldn’t believe I would do it for him, but really, I’d do it for anyone,” Lynch said. “If I could save his life and give him another 30 years then why not do it. It wasn’t a hard decision to make.”


Both men went in for their respective procedures on February 25 and even worked at the hospital together up until the last day before surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, which specializes in kidney transplant procedures. Doctors declared the surgeries a success and both Greenhall and Cedarhurst native, Lynch, are at home recovering.

“It’s hard to put it in perspective,” Greenhall said. “I am carrying a piece of him with me now, forever as long as I live. It’s like being born again.”

St. John’s Episcopal Hospital’s new Chief Executive Officer, Nelson Toebbe, admires what Lynch volunteered to do.

“We applaud Kevin Lynch and what he did on behalf of his friend and colleague, Andrew Greenhall,” he said. “This selfless act shows the depth of feeling among co-workers in the Imaging Department and St. John’s Episcopal Hospital. We wish them both the best of health!”

The Administrative Director of Imaging Services, Patty Gillespie, their boss for more than four years, says that everyone in the department has come together to emotionally support their fellow co-workers. Lynch and Greenhall both expressed how grateful they are for everyone’s support.

“While they are the ones that went through this, we have rallied around to help them out as much as possible,” Gillespie said. “Kevin is a hero and we’re all behind them both 100 percent.” Gillespie encourages people to become organ donors. It’s a valuable resource that helps save lives of people just like Greenhall.

“I’m just so delighted by the whole thing,” she continued. “It is so incredible that something like this happened right here in Rockaway.

Gillespie’s same tight knit group of colleagues from the imaging department is putting together a fundraiser in Inwood tonight, March 18, to help support Greenhall and Lynch through their recoveries. Both men are slated to miss work for several months while they recuperate. The party which is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. will be held at the Inwood Buccaneers Club

pinkbutterfly

I just read your story....it made me cry. Hugs to you and your donor. You will be in my prayers.

Bathgate66

My creatnine levels have stabilzed at 1.7, still too high for the doctors liking. To be sure there is no rejection happening, they've called me in for a Kidney Biopsy tomorrow morning . I have to be up New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia Presbyterian @ 1130am .

Most likely, the high creatnine numbers are due to the aggressive Prograf ( and Myfortic - both anti-rejection drugs) regimen that I've been placed on. Not looking forward to the biopsy- its gonna hurt. They insert a thick gauge syringe into the kidney itself and they draw out a sample- all while I am awake.
They do it under live ultrasound technology, so as to view the kidney during the procedure.

Bathgate66

Creatine up to 1.9,
Biopsy went off without a hitch. That spring - loaded syringe was no fun, but aparently the kidney has no nerve endings so it wouldnt hurt that much , ( indeed it didnt- just a little pressure )
Results back from Biopsy tomorrow afternoon.
*crossing fingers *

prism

glad the biopsy went okay. it's the sound the spring loaded syringe makes that i found startling


the waiting is rough...so hang in there


wishing you the best of luck for good results...


*fingers crossed*

Bathgate66

Well, My worst possible fears have come to realization.
I have rejection , what theyre classifying as Type 1a Rejection
( The lowest value in a scale moving up as it gets more critical
ie: 1a, 1b, 2a 2b , 3a ,3b ,.....)
They wanted me immediately into the city for the start of Steroid Therapy.
I wasnt able to get into Columbia-Pres at this late juncture, so we put it off
until early tomorrow morning @ 9AM.
A natural side effect of the Steroid Therapy is driving my blood sugar values thru the roof, so they will also need to increase my daily insulin levels while doing the Steroid Therapy.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, and thanks everyone !

norm

damn andrew i'm so sorry...keep fighting!

Lizard

Bathgate66 wrote:

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, and thanks everyone !

For sure..............

pinkbutterfly

I'm praying things turn around for you. God bless you and give you strength.

Bathgate66

:thumbup:

Many thanks, everyone !

prism

Bathgate66 wrote:

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, and thanks everyone !

you can count on it

sending you plenty of positive thoughts & energy that it will be reversed