Yoyo is free!

A lot has happened this afternoon! Big thing - Yoyo was discharged and we were free to go!

But other details first! In the hallway, across from the Bell of Life, they have this picture of the Angel Oak Tree. The colorful leaves they stick on have the names of kidney donors.

Yoyo now has a leaf!

But that's not all! He also got a special cake -

In case you can't read it, the receipt says, "Donor Cake - Thank you for your gift of life!" He also got a folder that includes a picture of him kissing Yaya at the Bell, a copy of the poem about the Bell, and also a "Certificate of Appreciation." Both Yaya and Yoyo have received a bright red pillow in the shape of a kidney - it comes with a permanent marker so that all the nursing staff can sign the pillow.

Yoyo has been doing really well today. He's gotten a lot of rest, walked around, and hasn't needed much pain medicine at all. His appetite is still small but that's to be expected. He was discharged around 4:30 this afternoon and we went to hang out with Yaya. She was getting her lesson in interpreting the medicine chart so we sat through that. Then I went to get the car (after a terrifying scare when I thought I'd lost our keys) and picked Yoyo up at the door.

We've checked in to our hotel now. It's definitely a lot quieter and more peaceful here. Yoyo has settled in nicely! In the morning we'll get breakfast and then head back to the hospital to spend a few hours with Yaya. It's only 10 minutes or so to the hospital so it's ok for us to go back and forth a bit. The hotel has parking right outside the door, and the hospital has wheel chair service so he can be picked up at the door - keeps the stressful walking to a minimum!

Yaya has had a very eventful day! They've been testing her blood sugar every hour and, as expected, it was high this morning and has tapered nicely into the normal range throughout the day. She's still on the insulin drip and the saline. From what I understand, through the night they'll start weaning her off both so that tomorrow she can lose the IVs altogether! She'll start a regular round of insulin at that time. She's got some swelling now but they say that's normal because of all the fluids they are pumping in. She should deflate some tomorrow.

They are watching her creatinine level. I've had several people ask if her kidney has woken up yet. Yes it has, but slowly. She's making urine (which is excellent) but the creatinine level is also important. They expected it to be high right after surgery but over the next few days it should return to normal, and that's how we know the kidney is fully functioning. This evening's test yielded results similar to six months before surgery (this is good news - a continued improvement from this morning). They expect tomorrow to be even better. I'm sorry I don't have definite numbers. This day has been too busy to remember details like that!

During her medication training, she had to read her chart (names of medications, dosage amount, and special instructions), and she had to answer any random question the nurse asked. Yaya definitely did her homework! She answered all the questions confidently and correctly. She was able to interpret the chart (blown up a bit to accommodate her eyesight) and understands how to make changes to it as directed. I am so proud of her!

She is definitely feeling better. She's had almost no pain meds today, has walked around several times, and is eating solid foods. She's still having a hard time with the phone - she gets interrupted a lot by doctors and nurses so it's hard to carry on a conversation.

I'll update again tomorrow when I get the chance!