Celebrating Mother’s Day after Kidney Failure

This year was my 2nd Mother’s Day and really only the 1st one that I had the ability to enjoy. Last year, during the weekend of Mother’s Day I was still recovering from kidney failure. Just 2 weeks prior I had spent a few days in the ER (and then was transported to the “sick” portion of the hospital) after a routine visit with my Kidney Doctor.

After I delivered my son Avery, my kidneys immediately went into shock and failure. I spent 3 weeks in the hospital trying to regain my strength and battling various infections.

I begged and begged my Kidney doctor to release me everyday and one day she did. And it was probably too soon because just a couple of weeks later, I was back in the hospital.

I initially went to the ER because I was very weak and dizzy. Often fainting in the shower and just not having general strength.

I thought this was a result of having your abdomen sliced vertical and horizontal from a very abnormal c-section. I had fibroids that apparently were in the way during my c-section and tubal ligation so I had to be cut both horizontally and vertically in a plus sign shape.

Also, I was on very strict bed rest for 4 weeks leading up to the early c-section. This caused severe muscle loss and going into a c-section, you’re supposed to have leg strength and general muscle strength. So I guess I was already doomed.

The entire time, I thought I was feeling weak and unstable because of the bed rest, or maybe even the way I was cut for my c-section, but I had finally become aware of the severe anemia that I had developed. My blood count was so low that I needed a blood transfusion to feel better.

I went to the ER, per doctors orders, for a blood transfusion. Apparently blood transfusions are very risky and even though they test the bloods they receive, you are still at risk for contracting HIV and a host of other diseases. Because of this, the head doctor of the ER refused to give me a blood transfusion and instead felt that it was better for me to just live with the feelings of weakness, dizziness, fainting, etc.

I had a newborn baby (8 weeks old) and couldn’t even hold him as much as I wanted to because I was instructed not to hold him when I had any feelings weakness or dizziness. And I had those feelings often.

While I was in the ER, I was told that I had a lot of other things going on as a result of the c-section. I learned that I had a bladder infection and would need to wear a catheter and a lot of other bizarre things.

When I finally got discharged from the hospital, I had so many doctors I had to see every week that it was insane. I remember going to this Hemoglobin (blood) doctor and being the youngest patient in the waiting room. It seemed like every doctors office I went to had tons of very old people with Cancer. And then me. It was scary. I would often think, at least these people lived their life. I have a newborn to raise. These appointments lasted for about 2 months. And during this time, my maternity leave ended and I had to return to work.

So this year was really the first Mother’s Day for me to get to enjoy. Avery and I spent the day with my Mother, Sister, Step-Sister, Brother, and family. I cooked all the food and that was exhausting. I won’t be doing that again. Next year I’m going to kick my feet up and relax and really do Mother’s Day right.