written on November 7, 2014
21 days since the transplant, and I’m still so in awe of how well this kidney has been working.
I’ve been doing a lot of walking this week – well, I try to go out twice every day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I’m up to 40 minutes at a time – which is probably a little more than 2 miles. I’m not really interested in the distance – the amount of time I spend is far more important to me.
Walking is one of the few things I can do to exercise right now and it really helps. It definitely keeps things flowing, in and around the incision. Some days I have a noticeable limp, mostly because the nerve endings in the top of my right leg are coming back to life and they cause me some pain and discomfort. It might be several months before they’re completely healed and the limp goes away. But it’s a small price to pay for all the benefits the kidney has given me.
There really isn’t any pain around the incision, thankfully. It is uncomfortable when my clothes rub against the stitches, but that’s just something I have to get used to - it’s not like I can walk around naked from the waist down (no one wants to see that anyway, least of all me).
We’ve had a mini heat wave in LA again this week, so I haven’t been so gung ho about walking in the mornings. It’s been hitting the 80’s by 10 am, which is way too hot for me. I don’t do well in high heat – something about it saps my energy so fast. And the Prograf I’m taking (one of my anti-rejection medications) increases my risk of skin cancer a tremendous amount, so I really prefer to walk in the morning before the sun is too high, or in the evenings as the sun is setting. Can’t get skin cancer if you’re not out in the sun!
My mom likes to walk with me, which is fun. It’s a good way to just catch up and talk about whatever has been going on. I mean, we spend almost every waking minute of every day together, but we still manage to find things to talk about whenever we’re walking. I love being outside and seeing the neighborhood, breathing the fresh air and just being alive. Walking is such a wonderful way to remind yourself that you are alive.
I keep thinking once I’m able, I would like to start running again. I’ve run two marathons in my life, and I’ve always wanted to do a third, but it’s so hard on the body. Who knows, maybe marathon running had something to do with my kidney disease. There is absolutely no scientific proof to back up that claim, but I can say from experience that running 26.2 miles is very hard on the human body, especially the knees. We as creatures are not meant to take that kind of beating. I prefer running half-marathons – 13.1 miles is far more manageable and I can still walk the next day.
Who knows, maybe I’ll take up running again in a couple of months. Or maybe I’ll just keep walking. Walking may take longer, but it feels so much better, and you can really enjoy the world around you when you’re not trying to beat a clock.