--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, james storm <saberstorm1@...>
wrote:
>
> Great to hear from you I am still going to keep you in my thought
hope you get better each day and come back well and ready to hand any
thing that comes along good luck and fast healing.
> James AKA Saber Storm.
>
> "Take a wild, friggin guess" <a_change_of_plans_at_...>
wrote: Hey all-
>
> I returned home from Saint Louis last night, but was far too
> exhausted to do anything worthwhile. One thing I've noticed is
that I
> have a real limited amount of energy, and it appears only a couple
> times a day, so I have to pace myself.
>
> I got the call on the 14th of November, and both my mom and I had
to
> get our shit together and then she drove me up to St. Louis. I
was
> prepped overnight, and had both surgeries performed over a 5-6
hour
> period. I think it was around 6am or so. In any case, the docs
> replaced my pancreas with a functioning one, and put in one good
> kidney.
>
> I was in ICU for awhile, then went through all the fun painful
shit
> for the first week after surgery. All I can say is: catheters are
not
> fun. I had more tubes and hoses in me than the six-million dollar
man.
>
> I got released for a week, but a fever and nausea forced me to
> return. After getting tons of strong antibiotics, enough blood
> cultures and withdrawals to drain a horse, and almost no sleep for
a
> week, it was discovered that one of the pills I was taking was
causing
> the fever. (This is besides the little touch of pneumonia that I
had).
>
> Currently, I'm on 18-20 pills a day, though those will decrease
over
> time as my immune system is slowly rebuilt. The docs have all
been
> very impressed with the results; all my various levels are within
the
> normal range, including my blood sugars. It's mighty nice to not
have
> diabetes anymore. Makes all the agony worth it.
>
> It may be a while before I can draw; some of the medications I'm
on
> cause tremors in my hands, so it's a little tricky to do any kind
of
> decent work. Luckily, those medications will be deleted from the
> roster in a few more weeks.
>
> I lucked out in the approval process. The docs voted me in
> unanimously, and my general health was far greater than the usual
> kidney/pancreas patient. No known allergies, no diseases or
viruses.
> The donor turned out to be an excellent match, and the organs
bonded
> without a hitch. My only regret is that an otherwise healthy
young
> man of 18 years of age had to die of obviously unnatural causes.
I am
> still awaiting a special thank-you form from the hospital which I
can
> fill out and send to the donor's parents. It seems the hospital
does
> not allow free-form letters, and I reckon that makes sense.
>
> Special thanks to the doctors and staff of SLUH, the donor and his
> parents for their selfless gift, the good wishes and thoughts of
> everybody on the group and elsewhere, to my mom for being a
caregiver
> while I was recuperating, and to Des for taking all her vacation
days,
> sick days and personal days to be with me and help out in any way
she
> could. I know the road to complete recovery will be long and
slow,
> but I'm certain it can be traveled without too much incident.
>
> In other news, I'm really chomping at the bit to get back to
> drawing, but I'll have to wait until everything smoothes out
again.
> Also, I'm surprised I'm not itching like crazy, since they pretty
much
> shaved me from my upper chest to my crotch, and even part of my
upper
> thighs. I normally look like a friggin' carpet, as far as the
hair
> department goes, but everything is growing back quietly. Thank
> goodness for that!
>
> I've got a lot of e-mails still, but I'll have to work on those
when
> I can. Just sitting here typing this has tired me out. :( Oh
yeah,
> I also lost about 24 pounds after the surgery, which was nearly
all
> water. Since my OEM kidneys were barely functioning, I had a good
> build-up of extra fluid. Seems the transplant has taken care of
that
> little issue. Sweet. Of course, now everyone thinks I'm scrawny
> again, since I'm only 146 pounds. Gotta bulk that back up once I
get
> the okay to start lifting again!
>
> Okay, I gotta take a rest. Just wanted to say howdy and let
> everyone know I'm still kickin'. And thanks again everyone, for
your
> prayers and good wishes. I'll be back online within the next
couple
> days. Talk to you all soon, and have a good holiday season!
>
> --JMH, now with a 10-inch long scar along the underside. New and
> improved!
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.
Try it now.
>
Upon my soul,Jim!You gone through the mill!Well,I hope that your
situation become nicest from now on.My best wishes for you.
Brat Bat,a Brazilian furry fan
Received on Thu Dec 20 2007 - 19:22:24 CST