Living Kidney Donation

Recovery Room after operation to remove kidney

Next thing I could hear a voice saying my name and asking me to wake up. It is strange but you can hear the voice perfectly but for a short while you can’t move or speak. It was not that I was even trying to. I was just listening to this voice but not reacting to it yet. I didn’t even try to open my eyes, I was sort of getting my bearings and remembering where I was. For a second I was confused and wondered why I had to wake up, why had I been asleep? I thought it sounded like the operation was over, yet I had only just gone down to theatre! Of course I soon twigged that it was indeed all over. For some reason I was totally surprised by the lack of “lost time”. How wonderful though. One minute feeling woozy, then next minute it is all over and I am back awake.  Sounds a bit crazy, but I sort of felt I had missed out on the best bit! I would have loved to have watched the operation and having lost a few hours seemed so strange as literally I felt like I had one minute said how woozy I felt and the very next second was being asked to wake up … with no awareness at all of the time lapse between, it was as though the wakening immediately followed the woozyness.

I felt fine in the recovery room where you are expected to stay about a couple of hours and they keep an eye on your stats etc to make sure everything is okay before taking you to the ward. I was told the operation had started at 9.30am and was finished at 12.45pm, so just over three hours. I forget actually what the time was when I came around, but I was in no pain at all.  I was offered an oxygen mask but preferred the nose tube, which only just sits inside the nostrils. It doesn’t go right up your nose and into your lungs which I had previously thought. Duh! Oxygen is pumped through which aids recovery and certainly I felt I was breathing a lot better than I normally did. I felt slightly light headed, but not unpleasantly so and a very dry mouth. I anticipated this as had been under anaesthetic before and had both those feelings before – water seemed to be the cure back then and so I asked for a drink of water which I was given. Head cleared immediately and I felt fine and dry mouth went. Even though you are given fluids intraveneously you do get dehydrated, at least I do and taking a drink of water works wonders.

Recovery unit were waiting for a bed to be prepared for me in the Transplant unit but there was a delay with the discharge of the previous patient I believe, so I was actually in recovery for around 5 hours.   The nurse who stayed with me for best part of that time was great. We had a good laugh together and chat about all sorts of things. She said they had been discussing why someone would do what I did and she couldn’t get her head around why I had donated to a stranger and even explaining it as best I could, she was still a bit “confused” by it all. I can understand that perfectly. Another nurse asked me to explain exactly what altruistic was so I explained. She said that her husband donates bone marrow and had done so 4 times! Wow.  She said it was very painful for him to do but each time of course a life was saved.  What a courageous man. There are some truly remarkable people in this world.  I was offered a cup of tea and while thinking “did I or didn’t I feel like one” – the offer of some biscuits was made. Well – only one answer to that – Yes Please! I suddenly felt really hungry and did I enjoy those biscuits and that cup of tea.  I know the British are sometimes mocked for our love of a cup of tea but I have to say they can mock away all they like – I love my cup of tea, and that day it was the best cup of tea I have ever had! I was beginning to feel rather spoiled. A companion to keep me company for all those hours – cups of tea and biscuits – I have nothing but the highest praise for the NHS and the many many people I have had contact with over the months.

From what I could see there was only one other person in Recovery, next to me. He was still a bit “out of it”. 

My main recovery nurse said when she finished her shift the next day she would come and find me to see how I was. I would look forward to that. She had made my time in recovery go quickly and was very friendly and kind – it takes a very special caring person to become a nurse  and my brief stay in hospital brought me into contact with many very special people who enriched my life more than they will know. 

I was taken up to the Transplant ward around 6.15pm.