By tomorrow he should be peeing

So today was one of those days, a good day really, because we got the call.  We actually got the call before the patient did.

At 0445 a man’s life was changed forever, he got his kidney he has waited years for.

I first met him on my first day as a barely 18 year old girl fresh out of High School, thinking I was tough stuff, and now five years later (yes I just aged myself) as he walked through the door with the biggest grin on his face we all clapped and hugged him.

 I felt a bit of a loss. 

Perhaps this is selfish but I am going to miss him, he was always nice, always complimented us, brought us store bought cookies on holidays and never once complained.  He was almost the perfect patient, he took care of himself, never gained too much fluid, took his binders and always always had input on his care.

I will miss him but I know I have to let him go, we will not be apart of his new life anymore.  We won’t get the monthly updates on his grandchildren or how his youngest is doing in college, we probably won’t even see him for a few months if not years.

(Dialysis patients with new kidney’s rarely  come back to say hello, I don’t blame them really.)

So tonight I will pray (even though I normally don’t) that his transplant goes well and by tomorrow he’s peeing, and as much as this pains me to say I hope I don’t see him for awhile.

Good luck former (hopefully) dialysis patient, we will miss you!

 

 

~ by Kim on April 4, 2008.