Still Sleepy......

 Last year we were neck deep in postoperative concerns and complications, not the least of which was the new kidney's refusal to "wake up." https://kidneedsakidney.blogspot.com/2023/06/waiting-for-kidney-to-wake-up.html 

It was terrifying in the short-term.  It's concerning in the long term.

This kidney does not work as well as the last one did.  Remembering that decline in kidney function is exponential (each small rise in creatinine represents a relatively massive decrease in function), her current creatinine hovers in the 1.0-1.3 range. 1.3 is high for anyone. For someone her age? Moreso. Jorge's kidney was at 0.8-0.9. She got biopsies to assess for rejection at levels that are now "normal." 

However....

She's been stable at this level.  But, to my eye, not as well as she was in 2021, before Jorge's kidney failed.  She fatigues more easily. She can do anything (she goes to the gym pretty regularly for example), but it takes longer for her to recover from a strenuous day.

That being said, she is 1000% better than she was on dialysis. 

I follow a blog written by a young man whose kidney failure journey began in his late teens/early 20's. He has failed 3 (maybe 4?) transplants and is no longer a candidate for further transplantation. He is in his 40's and is coping with the fact that it is "dialysis for life" for him. The thought is, frankly, terrifying. TheKidneyBoy

It's difficult to describe the absolute terror of the week following her transplant, the fear that the kidney would not "wake up." The adjustment to the "new normal." 

I know that borrowing trouble from tomorrow is NOT okay. And I don't do it often. But anniversaries represent sometimes very difficult milestones, and I trip over the scars sometimes.

DeeDee