UPDATE: Thursday, Jun 20, 2024 · 7:14:12 PM +00:00 · jtg
I had another blood test this morning. The kidney-related factors are slightly better but not much. The stones are still inside me for now. I had an echocardiogram for my heart.
I’m going home later today, but this is not over. I’m going to have several surgeries at some other hospital to get the kidney stones out. The doctors have been very concerned about my heart and I’ve been wondering if this means things are worse than I thought.
It seems unlikely I’ll be able to work as a substitute teacher anymore. For a long time, I’ve had an increasingly hard time with dizzy spells and weakness. I hope I’ll be able to get my content production going, ie. YouTube and writing essays. If you know the links, please go check them out.
I will soon be posting much more after I get home about my present and future and I will need your help. I see many people who support me, here and elsewhere. I will soon need more than tots and pears or things will not be well for me or my dogs or cats.
More to come. Watch for it.
#jtg
UPDATE: Wednesday, Jun 19, 2024 · 9:02:12 PM +00:00 · jtg
I had a “cystoscopy” last night with a stent inserted to relieve pressure. The bloody urine has been pouring out. The blockage has been relieved so urine can flow out.
This blockage has revealed that my left kidney is not functioning well as it did not take over the full functioning of purifying my blood. The urologist said I am very close to needing dialysis. He hopes with the right idney unblocked, my blood poisons will drop before they have to hook me up to a machine.
However there are multiple stones remaining. I’m going to be sent home when I stablize and referred to the hospital in Monterey which has a very good urology department with surgeons trained at Stanod and UCSF.
I’ll need at least two surgeries to get the stones out of my kidneys. These will be more complex than lithotripsy as they may have to in through an incision in my back, each time.
Hopefully I will be able to go home tomorrow. Otherwise I’ll have to get my friend to check on the critters.
Thank you for checking in on me.
#jtg
I hope this girl is still waiting for me when I get home.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Jun 19, 2024 · 10:45:47 AM +00:00 · jtg
The stent has been installed. I slept a few hours and I'm peeing blood. I still have abdominal pain, intense but fading slowly. I don't know how long I will be in hospital.
The stones (plural) are still in me but due to their size and placement INSIDE my kidney, the will not come out on their own. I will have to go to another hospital for several surgeries to get them carved out.
I finally got a little to eat after days of almost nothing. Since the procedure was completed after the hospital kitchen had closed, all I got was a couple of Turkey sandwiches on wheat bread. Not much but it took the edge iff my hunger.
Keep checking in on me. I appreciate it.
#jtg
UPDATE: Tuesday, Jun 18, 2024 · 3:43:13 PM +00:00 · jtg
Thank you all who have given me such wonderful support. I was very depressed and scared when I got here (and I still am). Please keep checking up on me.
I just got terrible news. My kidneys are full of stones that will require multiple surgeries over weeks, maybe months. I will have to go to UC San Francisco for the operations. I'm going to have a stent put in today but no stones out today.
I just learned I have a birth defect in my right kidney. Kidneys are supposed to be oriented up and down, but my right kidney is at an angle. I don't know how that affects kidney function yet.
I was told I should get my advanced directive and will done.
It appears working is out of the question for a long time to come. I'll be posting links for crowd funding soon. Those of you who know the links and can help I'd be appreciative.
Watch here for more later.
#jtg
UPDATE: Tuesday, Jun 18, 2024 · 5:44:54 AM +00:00 · jtg
'I’m in a hospital room for the night. I’m going to have the surgery tomorrow sometime. I do not yet know exactly what surgery I will have. I will probably be here at least tomorrow night and perhaps more depending on how I do.
I’ll write more tomorrow.
#jtg
I’m going to take a taxi to the local hospital in a few minutes.
I’ve been having extremely intense abdominal pain for a couple of days. Not only does my gut feel awful, like I have an intestinal blockage, but there is a persistent pain in my lower right back, right above my hip, that could be kidney pain. The pain has gotten so intense and persisted for so long I can’t put this off anymore.
My urine has turned stinky in the last day too.
It doesn’t help that I also have two distinct cardiac conditions as well, aortic sclerosis and cardiac arrhythmia.
I've found it hard to eat. My appetite has disappeared. Today I've only had about 600 calories. On top of that, I have an ongoing feeling of nausea.
This girl kitten is the latest feral, and she is letting me pick her up and head boop. If I’m in hospital for several days, I hope she is still there when I get home.
I’ve been getting the pets ready for a few days without me. I’ve filled their food and water so they have enough for several days in case I’m gone. I have a local friend who has watched them in the past, and if I’m in more than three or four days, she can check on them.
I’ve packed my bag with such things as ostomy supplies as, amazingly, few hospitals have adequate ostomy supplies. I’ve got my computer’s and phone’s chargers in my bag, where this laptop will go after I click send.
I’ll be updating this diary later. Maybe I’ll just be treated and sent home, but I’ve been in so much pain, level 9 out of 10, that I will be very annoyed if they simply send me home quickly.
If you have any comments or questions, ask them below. I’ll get to them later.
#jtg
Zorrita prepares for her butler’s absence.
