i'm ok, solo

I'm scheduled for surgery at 5:00am on Wednesday, September 22nd at Weill-Cornell in NYC, and my most important concern is... will my cat miss me? Of course she will and she'll make my life a living hell when I return home by howling in the middle of the night for approximately 3 days to 'show me' just how much she cares. The only reason I keep her around is to remind myself how important it is to compromise and share with your companion. The way I see it, this is just good dress rehearsal for when Derek Jeter decides we should shack up together, only I'll be the one howling in the middle of the night. Oh dear... ok, moving on...

I wish I had a dime for every time someone asked me, "Are you nervous?" Because if my best friend was getting a boob job on Wednesday, I'd be asking her the same thing. The answer is, "NO, I'm not." I'm anxious, and I think that's a little different. To be honest, for the latter part of the day I've been thinking about my recipient and wondering if she has concerns at this point. I don't know about you but if someone was giving their kidney to me, I wouldn't be convinced it was a reality until I saw the surgical scar from the transplant to prove it. I wish I could tweet her or something to let her know it's all snug as a bug here and anxiously awaiting it's new home, but I don't tweet. I would tell her that I have not even come close to changing my mind, or wishing I hadn't chosen this journey. I'm so thrilled to be a part of this and not for one minute have I had a second thought about my decision. I have complete confidence in the transplant team and I am thoroughly prepared for my recovery and the patience that it will require from yours truly.

During this process, many have asked about my concerns regarding the health and fitness abilities I might have after this donation. I truly feel my active lifestyle will not be impacted because I will be left with only one kidney. I'm ok, solo. I intend to regain my strength and fitness ability in time, and am going to focus on being even stronger and healthier than I am now. I want to create new running goals and work on new challenges to keep me motivated and energized. It's so important for me to stress to everyone that living with one kidney does not increase limitations for people, physically. If I played football or participated in a contact sport, this procedure would not have been an option, because the risks are too great that I might be hit or injured severely enough to damage an organ. I gave up MMA last year for bird-watching so I'm all set.

I feel fantastic, mentally and physically. Although I'm still a little sore from my Warrior Dash on Saturday. I've never felt more alive than when I was participating in that crazy event and can't wait to do it again. I'm happy I had the opportunity to get one last race in so close to the surgery date. I'll just have to wait, patiently, for my body to heal and with any luck I'll be up and running again very soon.

Warrior Dash - Windham Mtn.    -    Muddy, but happy!

Warrior Dash - Windham Mtn.
Friends surprised me at the finish line with Donate Life banner -
perfect ending to a great race!

Tomorrow I leave home at 6:00am and will have my first appointment for pre-op at 10:00am. I then get to meet my surgeon and will be asked for one last time (I hope) to give more blood. I'm gettin' good at this game! I'll be given a lovely cocktail of some crappy tasting rotgut at 6:00pm tomorrow night to get the plumbing all cleaned out and then after what will most likely be no more than a few hours of sleep, I will be admitted for surgery at 5:00am on Wednesday.

My mother and sister will be traveling with me and they will stay with me until the doctor tells security to escort them out of the hospital for loitering. I'm grateful that I have such a wonderful relationship with my family and am thankful to them for being there for me. Now the nurses might have a different opinion but what do I care, I'll be in 'happy land' and oblivious to any chaos they might be stirrin' up to divert from their boredom.  I hope to be discharged on Friday.

I'm looking forward to sharing more when I return this weekend. I hope to be feeling well enough to visit the blog at least once and provide an update to everyone. That is if Derek will allow me to spend time away from him. (He can be so controlling at times... ugh.)

Until next time... I'm asking all my followers to please pray for my recipient, that her body accepts my kidney and that she will be able to live a much fuller life now!