Thunderbirds are GO!

The coordinator consulted with the whole team and they are all confident in my safety (which I was too) and that elective surgeries won’t be canceled unless things get truly terrible here – which they might… Jonathan and I talked at great length and I decided to go ahead but to wait to inform my family until closer to. So, pre-surgery testing today!

  • Covid test – just a long, somewhat uncomfortable Q-tip, not the brain scrape people have mentioned. No wait – I got there early and was done before my actual appointment time. Still waiting for results.
  • 9 tubes of blood, not too bad. The phlebotomist was so nice and said she’d be seeing me again. The whole team has been wonderful; I feel very fortunate in my transplant center.
  • Meeting with the coordinator – my recipient is female and middle-aged, just like me! There’s a slight possibility we might get to say hello post-surgery/pre-discharge, but no promises of course and it’s up to how she feels.
  • A bag of stuff – magnesium citrate for bowel prep, 3 bottles of pre-surgery Ensure (blech!), special soap for washing
  • Met with my social worker in person for the first time – I really liked her. She also has run 3 marathons, loved hearing our Carl Kasell answering message from when I was on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and so I got to tell her about being on Jeopardy! – and it turns out my coordinator’s son lurves J! and I shared my videos/blog posts with them
  • Meeting with the financial coordinator, pharmacist, and a surgeon (who will be attending, not the primary). I will automatically get a TAP block for abdominal pain, yay. No surprises there except:
  • They are taking the left kidney, with two arteries and one vein, over the right with one artery but three veins(!) I will keep the Captain (Darryl Dragon) and donate (Toni) Tennille no matter which is which.
  • Confirmed: no visitors/companions at all – Jonathan will drop me off and pick me up when I’m discharged. I’m fine with that – makes it easier in some ways.

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