Out of Order

Okay, I lied. Sorry. 

In this post I indicated that I'd post periodic updates, and then I went and had a triple bypass and took a three month break with no updates at all. 

No one was more surprised than the cardiologist by the results of the heart catheterization. He detected four "old" blockages. These were candidates for being stented, but this approach would have required multiple procedures and necessitated being on blood thinners for an extended period after the last procedure. This would have put me out of the kidney transplant window for a longer period, with the added risk of additional kidney damage from the dye needed for each stent procedure. He and my nephrologist recommended bypass surgery, and referred me to a cardiac surgeon. 

Turns out my referral was to the best guy in town. He consulted closely with my nephrologist. He would install a dialysis port as part of the surgery, as kidney failure is a real possibility with bypass surgery even in people with normal kidney function. It was not at so great a risk for a heart attack that they needed to do it right away. The first date they offered me for the bypass was my birthday, and I didn't see any point in delaying it further so I could celebrate another completed trip around the sun. 

It turned out they only needed to bypass three of the four blockages. My kidney function held steady enough that they didn't need to dialyze me. My previous post covers the immediate post surgery experience. I'll share a little more about recovery in a future post.