I spoke with his Nephrologist today who said that they are admitting Little Pom on Sunday night. Monday, he will have a quick, out-patient surgery that will eliminate the need for his foley catheter. Currently, LP has been carrying around a bag of pee everywhere he goes. This will place a sub-pubic catheter, which like the foley, goes directly into his bladder. The difference it that it goes THROUGH the lower abdomen, rather than through the urethra. There are LOTS of questions that I'm sure are running through your mind right now. I don't have the answers.
- Will he still have a urine bag?
I dunno, I've heard conflicting information.
- Will he also release urine the "normal" way?
I have no idea, but I guess we'll find out!
- Will this be a permanant solution? As in, no Matrofinof (I've forgotten how to spell it!) catheter?
No. It's a temporary fix until he is better prepared psychologically for the M. Dr. V explained to me that while there are many people who have permanant subpubic catheters, they are not typically transplant patients. Because the body views the catheter as a foreign object, it will always try to reject it. When you are imuno-compromised (as LP will be after transplant) that's bad. The M catheter is a safer option for post-transplant life...since it seems like for the time being at least, catheterization will ALWAYS be a part of LP's life.
What I do know is this: After the surgery on Monday, LP wil begin to recieve theraputic counseling at home (to help him cope with everything that has and continues to happen), biofeedback therapy (I'm assuming, based on what I know of biofeedback, that this is to try and help re-train his bladder), and behavioral therapy (to get him used to and comfortable with the idea of self-catheterization...either through the urethra or the belly button).
In 2-3 months, we will see how LP is doing with the therapies and the idea of self-catheterization. If he's willing to cath himself through the urethra, then there will not be a need for the M catheter. If not, then we'll proceed to the M cath and he'll have to cath himself through the belly button. Neither option is wonderful. Hence, the therapy.
AFTER he's recovered from the M surgery (assuming he ends up needing it), he should be transplant ready by late spring. In the interim, Daddy had his first Living Donor appointment on Wednesday. In exchange for a HUGE amount of his blood, they gave him a sticker, a keychain and a cool "Give Life" bracelet, LOL.
So, that's the latest on Little Pom.
On to the house update:
COASTIES ARE AMAZING!! On Monday, we had 20-30 Coast Guardsmen and women at our new house to help us work on it. Together, they had gutted the bathroom, removed the canopy and the gutters, taken up the flooring and completed our work on the kitchen...before lunch! After lunch, they broke up the concrete in the basement to ready it for drain tile & sump pump installation. Thanks to the Coasties, we have made tremendous progress and are ready to move from the "tearing down" phase of things to the "building up" part. This weekend, before LP's admission, we're going to start painting. Hopefully, we'll get a few willing hands over to get that finished in one swoop. Then, it's on to installing the vital bits (toilets ARE handy!) and doing the roof next weekend. Progress has been swift and steady. YAY!
Thats all for now. I'm sorry I haven't posted much recently, but there hasn't been much of an update to give. The plan may be scary & more than a little intimidating...but at least we have one now, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment