"Alice. Call me. Urgent"
"Call. Emergency"
I called. Ludo, our beloved dog of 10+ years, had collapsed overnight. The vet was on her way. I was torn what to do, but decided I should head to the hospital anyway, as my non-attendance of the pre-op assessment would prevent everyone's operations from going ahead.
On the train to hospital, Matt called to update me that the vet had been to see Ludo and she'd broken her leg. She had given her sedatives and painkillers and taken an x-ray. More news to follow.
I arrived at the hospital in a bit of a state and explained the situation to my specialist nurse, who said she would try to get everything done as soon as possible so I could leave. The day passed in a
whirlwind. My specialist nurse managed to queue jump my blood pressure
check, weight check and blood tests so I didn't have to wait in line.
She bleeped the surgeon and asked him to come and see me specially in
the morning (my appointment was at 2.45pm). I was sent to have an ECG
(in a different part of the hospital), then called back because the
surgeon was suddenly available.
I told the surgeon about
Ludo. He was sympathetic. We discussed the op. He told me I'd have three scars and we discussed whether I cared if the big one was horizontal or vertical (I'm not fussed! Whatever works best for them)! He told me again about potential side effects: bleeding, infection, constipation, nausea. No surprises there. He mentioned the annual check up, which I'll receive for the rest of my life to ensure if I do have any problems (not just kidney-related) they will be picked up early and treated. Finally, he said they'd take extra-good care of me and that the reason
he'd chosen this specialism was because they got more time with each
patient as their donors are very special to them. Aww!
After that, I attended a patient education session. I was a bit late and everyone else there were donor pairs (i.e. recipient + friend or family member who was donating to them). I wondered what they must have thought had happened to my recipient as I was the only one by myself! Nobody asked and the staff didn't inform them that I was a non-directed donor so maybe they're still wondering...
The education session covered what to bring to hospital, what to expect on the morning of the op, straight after the op and in the few days following. There was a bit of info about pain relief, apparently I will have PCA (patient-controlled analgesia) for 24-36 hours, which means I have a button I press for morphine! Somehow I suspect this may be less fun than it sounds. We discussed discharge (usually 3-5 days post surgery) and what I will/won't be allowed to do after surgery:
No driving for 2-4 weeks
No lifting a kettle for 4 weeks
No carrying shopping for 3 months
No housework for the rest of my life ;)
You're allowed to walk from the day after the operation, but they recommend taking it slowly and building up. Running is frowned upon for 6 weeks, but I have only agreed to wait until my post-op check (3 weeks after) and then we'll review. They gave the recipients some info too, which I found interesting. One of them had had a transplant before. I asked him how long it took before he felt better and he said it was instant, literally the moment he woke up from the op, and it just got better and better over the weeks that followed. That was nice to hear.
The patient education session finished and we waited for the pharmacist, who was coming to check what medication we were currently taking pre-surgery. We waited for 15 minutes. Someone went to bleep her.
Then my phone rang, it was Matt. Ludo's x-rays had been inconclusive, so he'd agreed for a consult at the Royal Veterinary College. They'd come back to him. The broken leg had happened due to osteo-sarcoma - bone cancer. There was no suitable treatment. Ludo would need to be put down. Today.
I asked Matt to get the vet to give another dose of sedative and I'd be there as soon as I could. I asked the rest of the group to let the pharmacist know I'm not on any medication and if she needed me I'd pop in next week, then dashed for the train. It was a pretty traumatic day, not at all what I was expecting or hoping for (I'd been quite looking forward to it) but I was glad I'd managed to get through it as I couldn't bear the thought of letting everyone down.
I got home at 2pm and got a couple of hours with Ludo before the vet put her down at 4pm. RIP lovely Ludo. You will be missed.
