Hello & Thank you!

[Guest guest]

I'm glad to hear that ur out of the hospital and doing ok Alana!!

- Hello & Thank You!

Hi All!

Thank you all for your well-wishes. I returned from the hospital

yesterday afternoon and am doing pretty well.

I went to the emergency room last Thursday with an obstruction in my

right kidney - I've been struggling with kidney stones there for the

last 2 1/2 years when they grew back quickly after being removed. This

time they got really stuck.

In the short-term, a nephrostomy tube has been placed in my kidney to

keep it drained. I'm pretty much bed-bound until surgery on January

10th when the stones will be removed via percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Chuck, attendants and friends have been fantabulous. I am very

fortunate. I'll keep you posted.

Alana

[Guest guest]

Alana,

Great to hear you have such a strong support network! Keep us posted......

~a

Alana <alrt@...> wrote:

Hi All!

Thank you all for your well-wishes. I returned from the hospital

yesterday afternoon and am doing pretty well.

I went to the emergency room last Thursday with an obstruction in my

right kidney - I've been struggling with kidney stones there for the

last 2 1/2 years when they grew back quickly after being removed. This

time they got really stuck.

In the short-term, a nephrostomy tube has been placed in my kidney to

keep it drained. I'm pretty much bed-bound until surgery on January

10th when the stones will be removed via percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Chuck, attendants and friends have been fantabulous. I am very

fortunate. I'll keep you posted.

Alana

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Oh Alana, that sucks. I was diagnosed with kidney stones in '02 after 4

years of recurrent bladder infections. I really feel for ya! Take it easy.

Amy

Wife to Will 11/3/95

Mama to Olivia Isabelle 9/18/03

&

Phineas Maximilian 11/30/05

[Guest guest]

Resending this. For some reason it didn't post last night.

Dear Wonderful Friends & Family,

Yes, I am home and on the mend(!!!). Thank you for your well-wishes,

kind thoughts and prayers, and for your warm and concern-filled

messages, cards and phone calls. Also, great thanks to those of you

who have been able to physically support me and Chuck during both of

my hospital stays, during my time bed-bound at home, and now finally

up in my chair recovering. Now, and so often in the last few years,

I am reminded that it does indeed take a village, and that I am so

fortunate to have all of you in my life.

Thank you for staying with me so Chuck could have a meal, sleep a

wink, feed our fish and upset cats, and go to work when work

demanded. Thank you for holding down the fort by relaying messages,

running errands, answering the phone, and putting our house back

together. And thank you for sitting with me as I mumbled and nodded

or rattled on about gory medical details, bodily functions, and

inevitable existential ponderings.

On Monday, Chuck and gingerly folded me into my clothing and

wheelchair and waited while the hospital chugged through it's holiday-

impaired discharge ritual. I eventually was able to experience first-

hand the frigid weather that many of you had told me about and

fortunately kept the van warm while driving us home. I sat in

the living room for an hour and a half, taking it all in...a vertical

perspective I haven't had in more than 3 weeks.

My first day up was Wednesday, and it has been difficult and

exciting. It feels so good to be home! I missed Rex and Nigiri

sleeping on my feet, meowing their pleasures and complaints. I

missed sleeping close to Chuck without wires and tubes and beeping

machines dominating every waking and sleeping moment. (Chuck has

threatened to beep at me periodically to ease my transition.) I

missed our own cooking and the sounds of our neighborhood. I missed

sleep!

I am having very little pain related to the surgery...nothing a

Tylenol can't handle...and realize, now that I'm out from under the

fog of too many narcotics, that the pain has been very mild since

Sunday. Unfortunately, I was on powerful pain medication for so long

that it has been surprisingly difficult and uncomfortable to get off

of it. The hospital did not give me instructions on how to taper off

the medication, and since I didn't feel much pain when I came home on

Monday, I simply didn't take anything. Oh, boy...! In a nutshell,

withdrawals are more horrible than kidney stone pain. Fortunately, I

was able to consult with my nurse Robin and Dr. Hwang and we put

me back on a low dose of medication which I am tapering off of slowly

and will be done with by tomorrow. Whew!

I'm wobbly and weak after losing too much weight and not using my

arms and hands for so long. This is very different from my last

surgery for which I was only in bed for 5 days. " Use it or lose it, "

they say. I've lost a lot of it, but am confident that I will regain

this strength with patience and discipline. I am working hard to

balance my head upright, lift my hand to my wheelchair's joystick to

drive, and maneuver the mouse on my computer to type. As of Friday I

feel more safe because I can now use the speakerphone, though, the

cell phone is still too hard. Feeding myself, chewing and swallowing

was even difficult, but my love for food has prevailed and I feel

myself putting on a little weight. Each day the muscles in my back

feel a little stronger, and I can actually imagine that soon I will

be obsessed about something other than what every inch of my body can

and cannot do...ha ha!

As for keeping stones from growing again, I am optimistic. Dr.

Hwang, my infectious disease specialist, and I have worked hard to

get me to a point where I'm being hydrated enough to reduce how often

I get urinary tract infections. My surgeon Dr. Kahn explained that

certain types of bacteria actually promote the growth of kidney

stones (who knew?!). I will continue working with these two doctors

whom I trust and respect to keep me hydrated and to manage the bugs

with whom we must co-habitate. Also, as soon as I'm off this round

of antibiotics, I will meet with an acupuncturist and consider an

alternative treatment to prevent infections and stone formation.

I plan to begin working a little sometime next week and am looking

forward to reconnecting with you each individually. Feel free to

phone or e-mail, but please understand that I may be slow to

respond. And yes, I am up for some low-key socializing close to

home...ly, just at home for a bit. Ha ha...gosh!...My hair's

mess! It was so long and unmanagable that I had beth cut it off

while I was in bed. Pretty lob-sided! No fair laughing...Maybe I

should revisit the mohawk!

Sending you all much love and my deepest gratitude. I can't imagine

life without Chuck or all of my wonderful friends and family.

Cheers! Big cheers!!

Alana