The new/used kidney is still very happy and functioning properly after four months.
The problem now is the anti-rejection drugs make me vulnerable to infections, and I just spent a week in hospital battling streptococcal pneumonia. Although I'm on oxygen at home 24/7, I'm recovering well. I taught my two fencing classes last week with an oxygen bottle trailing behind me, which made for interesting footwork. Much of the instruction was while sitting down, and directing bouting was no problem
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Just short of my two-month kidney-versary, and my recovery is still going well. I have been able to discontinue two drugs, with another scheduled for next week. I still take about 22 tablets and capsules every day, but compared to dying, it's really no hassle. That's still fewer than before the transplant, when I just had End Stage Renal Disease.
I started swimming as soon as my incisions fully healed, and I'm up to 700 yards (640 meters) three times a week and I love it.
Today is my one-month kidney-versary. Four weeks ago I had a kidney transplant, the organ coming from a deceased donor. I achieved my goal of a pre-emptive transplant (i.e., no dialysis) through hard physical exercise seven days a week, but I had a lot of unpleasant symptoms so it was time.
The recovery has been going well, with regular monitoring by the clinic to watch for signs of infection and incipient rejection. The first week out of the hospital I was able to walk a couple of blocks, t
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Today we had to share the gym with a college transfer event, most of the room filled with tables of reps from universities and agencies trying to recruit our students.
A random woman saw me wearing my jacket, holding my mask and épée and she asked me where she could sign up for a 'jousting' class. She said she's always wanted to try jousting as it looked like fun.
Well, nearly a year later, here I am again. Nobody can accuse me of hypergraphia, eh?
We started the new term of fencing class last week with a good group of students, nearly all of whom are beginners. I'm rearranging the curriculum some this term as an experiment and I'm excited to see how it actually works out.
Last Tuesday was also the 29th anniversary of the first serious fencing class I took. I wasn't very good for quite a while, though I won a novice tournament the following Septe
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Six-month update on my cortisone treatment: everything is A-okay with the knee. I had a brief flare-up of acute gouty arthritis in the other knee, but I took it easy in fencing for a week or two, and increased my water-walking regimen and it resolved itself without the use of drugs (except for red wine). I am convinced that walking in waist-deep water at 88 degrees F (31 C) increases the circulation in a beneficial manner, besides being good exercise.
It's been nearly two months since my cortisone shot, and things are still going well with my knee. I'm still walking in (not on) water at least 3X a week for an hour, and fencing 3X a week with no pain at all.
The class is really working hard and learning to fence, and I've been enjoying working with the students, who range in age from 15 to 64. It has taken a good deal of work to get some of them to listen to instructions, but overall I'm pleased.
After two weeks of fencing class, I can report that my knee has fully recovered from the nastiness of August and September. I am still water-walking 3X a week (I must have an enormously high threshold for boredom, don't you think?) and that has really made a difference. Back and forth, back and forth in waist-deep water for a solid hour, plus stretching. At least with a treadmill I could listen to music or watch TV, but with this therapy all I can do is sing to myself in my head. Since it's onl
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A week following the cortisone shot, I am in a much better mood. The night after my injection I slept through the night for the first time in a month. I hadn't quite realized how even a little sleep deprivation could affect my daily life, and being in constant pain is exhausting anyway. I still have some tightness in the knee, but I would rate the pain now as a 2 on a scale of 1-10, compared to 8 or so before.
In the interests of continued healing, I've decided to stop walking on the concre
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The end of August I wrote about my knee pain and the lack of cortisone in my doctor's drug cabinet. He suggested I call again in two weeks, so I did Tuesday, and the good stuff still hadn't arrived. I called again yesterday, and the shipment had arrived, and the receptionist said I could come in Friday for my injection. I pleaded for an earlier appointment; I might have to wait a bit, she said. I pointed out I had waited two weeks of pain-filled days and sleepless nights, and sort of whimpered
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11-02-2009 01:50 AM 
08-14-2009 01:31 PM