The night before
We stayed at the Summit Street Inns so we’d already be in Winston-Salem for our ridiculously early start. Julie had to be at the hospital at 5:00 AM.
The inn itself gave us one last bit of comic relief before things got serious. There was an old couch with a carved wooden face on the armrest that Dad swore looked like Donald Trump. Because apparently even kidney eviction week needed a little weirdness.
Kim Peeler had also made Mom a snack and care basket for the trip, another reminder of just how many people have been carrying pieces of this journey with us.
Kidney Eviction Day — September 24
We got to the hospital at 5:00 AM. Dad had worried quite a bit about where he was going to park the camper van for the next few days, but that turned out to be one of the easiest parts of the morning. He found parking by MRI, literally about a one-minute walk from the main entrance.
That also gave him a chance to update the Camping In The Carolinas & RVing with Dogs group that had helped him figure out the parking situation. Problem solved.
Mom’s robotic bilateral nephrectomy started at about 8:15 AM. We had been told to expect roughly six hours.
Nani, Kameron, Dad and I were all there waiting.
Mom had also given Dad two groups of people she specifically wanted kept in the loop: his mom and sisters in a group appropriately named “Kidney Eviction Update,” and another group with Mom’s work friends.
Then we waited.
At about 11:17 AM, we finally got an update: the left kidney was out. They were moving on to the right, and there had been no complications.
A little after 3:00 PM, we got the call we had been waiting for.
Both kidneys were out. Surgery was finished. No complications.
After a surgery that lasted roughly seven hours from start to finish, the next step was simply waiting for anesthesia to wake her enough to move her into recovery.
The first night
Recovery wasn’t instantly easy.
The first couple of hours were rough. Mom had a lot of pain and cramping as she came out of surgery. After such a long day and such a major operation, there wasn’t much glamorous about that first night.
Mom wanted Dad to stay with her, so he stayed in the hospital room.
And that camper van suddenly became more than a parking problem we’d spent days trying to solve.
Kameron and I slept in it.
The morning after
By Friday morning, things were already looking a little better.
Mom was still recovering from having both kidneys removed less than 24 hours earlier, but she was doing better than she had been those first few hours.
And then came one of those little things that doesn’t sound particularly exciting until you’ve spent months waiting for a surgery like this:
She got up and walked.
Not far. Nothing dramatic.
But walking is an important part of recovering from surgery and one of the steps she needs to take toward eventually getting out of the hospital.
So we’ll take that win.
For months, September 24 was this giant date sitting out in front of us.
Now it’s behind us.
Both kidneys are gone. The surgery went without complications. And recovery has officially started.
The next chapter isn’t transplant day quite yet. First, Mom has to heal.
But we’re one very big step closer. 💚