[392cobra]

Doug is doing GREAT !

"Wednesday afternoon, and I'm up and about. I had to trek through the hospital to get to this computer kiosk---wearing my studly surgery robe and carrying a pump full of bloody pee from my penis catheter, but I got here.

Actually, I got more admiring looks than odd ones, obviously toughing out a pretty uncomfortable experience.

The kidney transplant appears to have been a success. Of course, I will need to be on gaurd for organ rejection, but my creatinine clearance has dropped from 7.2 down to less than the transplant threshold of 6, and I feel great---okay, except for the incision pain and that oh-so-uncomfortable catheter.

I've been resting as much as possible, but barely sleep at night for some strange reason.

Yesterday my two sisters, Teresa and Kathleen came to visit with their husbands Andy and Mike, and then my oldest brother Russell and his wife Mary dropped by. Later in the evening, my work wing-man Sean dropped in (he's "Maverick", I'm "Goose", as he's much smoother than I), as well as Veronica, who will be managing the forecast process for me while I'm in recovery. Last night my Mom and step-father Art rolled in from their wintering in Arizona ( a week early) and Teresa brought them by for a visit this afternoon. I'm even hearing from friends I haven't heard from in a long time, Mike Kaloczy, and Rick and Liz.

We really shoudn't wait for stuff like this as an excuse to get together. Always more fun to meet under more positive circumstances. Nevertheless, it's been great to touch base with everyone.

I'll be at Stanford for a couple more days. Catheter comes out tomorrow, and so I'll likely be out Friday or Saturday. The original plan was to pay one of my neices to manage my care while I stay in an apartment near Stanford, but since this was so short notice I didn't have time to get everthing aligned so I will go home. I'm trying very hard to not allow this to impact Cameron's world, as he's been through an awful lot himself, and needs that stability.

I won't be able to drive for a while---at least while I continue taking pain-killers, so the Cobra and some nice weather will likely drive a move to abstain from them.

I'll have more to write about my experiences when I'm sitting comfortably at home without a catheter in my penis and a pump full of bloody piss in a canister next to me. (Quite an image, isn't it?)

Anyhow, I feel quite lucky and quite happy. The thought of dialysis had me a bit depressed, and the continued uncertainty of when, or whether I would indeed get a kidney left me with a vague sensation about the future.

So, I feel great---though I probably look like Hell. I'm looking forward to embracing life anew, and the possibilities seem endless. I'm quite happy.

Thank you to everyone for all the kind notes and calls. I look forward to seeing everyone again!

Cheers,
Doug "