Hernia mania.

So, at the February consult with ML Naidoo, we established that transplant plans would be temporarily put on hold while we focus on sorting out the hernia. Great. The good news was that even though I would need to be cut, it would be a mild op and no foreign materials would be required for the repair job internally. After initially suggesting that I may need haemodialysis for three months after the op, he informed me that this would not actually be necessary considering the simplicity of the op. He had initially been concerned that the surgery would interfere with my peritoneal membrane and therefore preclude my CAPD dialysis until the surgery healed. It was a huge emotional and phsycological relief to hear that!

The date was set for Wednesday 24th Feb. I would pop in early, have the op, then be out in a night or two...so the plan went. Some days prior to this date, I got a call from the surgeon, ML. The transplant brainstrust (Naidoo, Naicker & Hafajee) had decided they want to remove the failed transplanted kidney as well now! I went cold. The theory, he explained, was that my body had developed a very high count of antibodies against "Jo's kidney" over the years. With Lee being an identical twin, the kidney could be rejected by my body before I even wake up from the op! By removing the kidney therefore, the stimulus to produce those antibodies is removed, and over time, they even dissipate a lot too. This then creates a favourable environment for the next transplant, which they will also wack with meds to prevent any further build up of antibodies.

So, now my simple hernia op was also going to be a two in one coupled with a graft nephrectomy (removal of transplanted kidney). He also informed me then, that due to the nature of the these ops, they would probably have to put me on haemodialysis for three months while my internal surgery healed! That broke my mind. The surgery was now a three in one, as they would have to insert a haemo catheter into my shoulder (funny bone area) to facilitate haemodialysis. My thoughts kept returning to the fact that I was going to come out of surgery, technically worse off than going into it. Medically, it was a necessary step toward the next transplant, but the op was going to leave me 100% dependant on dialysis and with no renal function left at all. Furthermore, the first three or four weeks would be haemo, not the preferred CAPD. It gnawed at my positivity and confidence and for the first time in my life, I think I slipped into depression.