Surgery #13...and #14

I'm exhausted tonight, so I'm just going to give you all the basic facts. Yesterday's surgery (to put the stent in my kidney) did not go well. The tumor was pressing so hard on the ureter that they were unable to put the stent in. There was only a 10% chance things would go wrong. Unfortunately, I was in that 10%. They also found a mass in my bladder. They removed the mass and sent it to pathology to see if it is a tumor. Needless to say, it was a pretty bad night and I didn't sleep well (thus my need to quickly write you and then go to bed).

The problem is that my urine is truly caught in this kidney. They need to get it out quickly or I will lose the kidney. Therefore, tomorrow I will be heading to Stanford for surgery #13 - to put in a nephrostomy tube which will drain my kidney immediately. Unfortunately, I'll also be left with a bag. Draining the kidney will give us a little breathing room to figure out what to do next.

I'm pretty sad right now. It was a rough night and today was rough, too. Tomorrow night at this time I'll have a bag (at least it won't be a colostomy bag). The hope is that they won't have to leave the bag on too long. My colleague suggested that I bedazzle it - because everything looks better with glitter!

So - off I go for Surgery #14. I'll be spending the night at Stanford, but should be back on Thursday morning. This rollercoaster ride never ends....