A lot has happened since my last update!  We think we have the kidney thing figured out, Ashley and I enjoyed a quick trip to Chicago, and I’ve returned to work. 

On Friday Ashley and I took a trip to the University of Iowa Hospital so I could partake in a lasix scan of my kidneys.  Before the scan started they had me drink a little water and then they injected me with radioactive isotopes that their machine could see.  Then I laid on their table for forty five minutes and watched the radio active material work its way through my kidneys.  It was really cool!  It was obvious that my right kidney was much slower than the left.  So the determination was made that there was some sort of bolockage in my ureter (the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder).  Once that determination was made, we scheduled my sixth surgical procedure of 2018.  We needed to get a stent into that ureter in order to allow the urine to pass from the kidney into the bladder.  So we scheduled the procedure for this past Monday. 

But instead of simply coming home from Iowa City and vacuuming the floors or painting self portraits like we do on a typical weekend, we went to Naperville to hang with family on Friday and then into Chicago.  We stopped by the Fulton Market Harvest Festival and ate gourmet push pops, tried a new restaurant for dinner, and attended a concert.  We even walked back to our hotel from the concert.  It was a 1.3 mile walk.  This was a big deal for me since I’ve just recently been able to walk around the house without being short of breath and needing to sit down.     

My sister picked me up at 6:00 Monday morning and we were on our way to Iowa City.  We made it there in plenty of time and got checked in.  They took me back and got me ready for the procedure and after some enjoyable banter with the nurses they were ready to take me back to the room that the procedure would take place in.  They knocked me out and the next thing I knew I was laying in recovery bay one with a nurse telling me that I have very few wrinkles for a person of my age.  Then after a half hour of that they moved me to my own recovery room where my sister was able to join me and take notes while the nurses told me all about the weird stuff that the drugs I’m taking will do to me.  For example, one drug makes my urine look like orange soda.  

After all that was said and done I was feeling really good so we left the hospital, went to Which Wich for lunch, and then stopped at TraderJoe’s so I could buy all of the seasonal pumpkin stuff that I could get my hands on.  At one point my sister was worried that she was going to get blamed for my shopping spree because she didn’t stop me.  After all, I was all drugged up how could anyone blame me?  The nurse did tell me not to make any big decisions or sign any contracts.   

I experienced a little pain from the surgery Monday night but when I woke up on Tuesday the pain was almost completely gone.  So, today (Wednesday) I started working again!  It was a great day filled with catching up with colleagues and getting a sense for what the next few months will bring.  It felt so good to simply start brainstorming about long term strategies without the cloud of a major surgery or chemotherapy hanging over my head.  

It has been both a busy and an amazing 10 days and I am incredibly excited about what is to come.

What’s Next?

On Wednesday of next week  (9.26) we go back to Iowa City to meet with our oncology team.  This will be our first time meeting with them since July and we assume that this appointment will be used to discuss the check-in schedule over the next few years.  How great is that?!