#renalreplacement

[newkidney-newlife]

March 2023:

Things are good. The wounds are fully healed, and except for covid again, I'm completely pain free!

I'm planning on getting a tattoo or two to cover all the scars though, they're pretty bad thanks to the slow healing issues.

[newkidney-newlife]

I'm still weird.

So I've been back to Addenbrookes with my irritating non-healing wounds, and according to the surgeon he's never seen anything like it. Typical me! So back again in two weeks for another check up and more confusing looks.

I'm pretty sure if you read this blog you must be ready for anything, because I seem to have every weird thing and complication going 😆

[newkidney-newlife]

21 months later...

Another update, just when I thought things were beginning to get a bit better for me healthwise, they still aren't.

So remember those non-healing wounds I was having trouble with? They're still very much there, and after 3 months of fortnightly visits to a local plastics and burns unit to get new plasters and ointments, they're still exactly the same if not worse.

Dressings, even with ointments, seem to make the whole thing worse. They tell me to leave it on 2-3 days, in which time the pressure from the dressing causes it to reopen then heal...onto the dressing, meaning when I take it off it undoes everything the dressing had done by tearing the scab off and letting me bleed everywhere again. So needless to stay I've stopped using the dressings.

To make things even worse, they seem to have narrowed down my two current options to fix it:

- Surgery, which has a high risk of making things worse.

- Or a skin graft, which will also have a high risk of making it worse.

So yeah, that's about it. Almost 2 years later, and I'm still bleeding everywhere, and very sore.

I hope everyone whose treatment or transplant has been affected by the pandemic is staying safe and well.

Harley.

[newkidney-newlife]

CODE RED: LOCKDOWN

Well, it's happened, starting yesterday, the UK is officially on lockdown.

The public obviously can't be trusted in a pandemic, ignoring the government recommendations and laws, still going out in huge groups, spreading it around, and putting people at risk.

The panic buying of toilet rolls and handwash is dying down, but probably because the government has (quite rightly) grounded the entire country.

I've already been stuck at home for quite a while anyway, so I'm already incredibly bored, and won't see my girlfriend for at least 3 weeks.

At least Steam has a sale on...

[newkidney-newlife]

Well they say things come in multiples of 3...right?

Just over one month after the major surgery, and it's basically already healed, still a little bit bloody from the staple holes, but all in all good.

This morning I went to get the dressing changed on the drain wound (which is still a bit green and gunky, but on the mend), and I thought I'd mention the serious rash that had developed on my neck that was starting to get really painful.

As it turns out, that has now spread to my chest, back, and under most of my hair on the left side: it's shingles. Yay.

The best part is that because of my cocktail of medications, the usual treatments would interact and possibly cause more serious issues. Long story short: take some painkillers, wait to get better, and basically don't go anywhere because you're contagious.

Ah well, if I don't go anywhere nothing else can happen and I can't catch anything.

An introvert's dream! Shame I'm already bored of being around the house...

[newkidney-newlife]

Still going, still bored.

After being at home for a while after the surgery, I'm basically back to where I was after the transplant.

I'm bored, feeling up to doing nothing and not being able to drive for at least 6 weeks.

I'm sore and aching all over.

But the worst thing by far, is feeling worthless, nothing but a burden on those you love.

As my parents and I are hoping to move house soon, there's things to do, and I'm feeling absolutely awful about not being able to do much to help.

No heavy lifting, and no bending or stretching is so limiting. This means top and bottom shelves are basically out, if I drop something it hurts to pick it up again, too much exercise hurts, not enough and I start to ache.

I can't wait to heal up...again.