Stint #4

Hello family & friends....
We just returned home from the clinic. Neither of us got any sleep, so we are planning to rest and and get caught up on sleep tonight. Andrew's soccer team actually plays Tri Valley this evening. I would love to go if the spasm and pain medications kick in.

Okay....so going into this EVERYONE assured us we would be going home yesterday after the surgery. We would even reply to not promise us anything because it never works out for us but they insisted this was going to be an easy & quick procedure. Just taking pictures of all the areas then sending us home.

The operating rooms got very backed up due to a couple of complicated surgeries so my 1pm surgery started around 6pm. 6 hours in this tiny pre op cubby with a tv that had terrible speakers. We had to laugh and stay positive but after 6 hours....well you can imagine.

My operating team was wonderful.....so kind and supportive. No anesthesiologist fighting with nurses. I went under very easily. When they woke me in recovery I remember somebody telling me the doctor wanted us to stay the night and I saw lots of blood in the catheter bag (sorry for the graphic details) It scared me and I called on my angels until Mike got there to tell me what happened. In recovery, they let visitors come in for 10 minutes and they have been very strict in all my past surgeries. I asked for Mike the minute they woke me up and when he finally got in there around 9pm, they let him stay with me the whole time.

If I understand correctly, where the kidney meets the ureter, it's narrowing from the scar tissue. So they removed the old stint, lazered a larger opening to the kidney and put in a bigger stint (bigger in width, not length). (That explained the blood.) I had to drink lots and lots of water during the night and by morning it was much better. This stint will stay in for 6-8 weeks and there is a 70% chance this will be the end of my stint stories!

They took me to a "short stay" ward where there were lots of people, men and women, in little curtained cubby areas, but no soft chair for Mike. He sat up in the little hard chair until he was too tired, then he went out to the little lobby which had the same chairs and a round table. He headed down to the main lobby at the clinic and actually got a little comfortable until a woman told him she was going to sweep. So he headed back up to my floor and the little lobby.

I stayed up drinking water all night and at 4am the dreaded blood sample was needed....4 tries until they finally got a slow moving vein. It was a darling little Phillipine nurse who kept assuring me that she is great at getting blood. She does it for all her patients. She said my veins are very deep. She was precious...I felt so bad for her. She tried 3 times then called in the Swat team. Mike came back in with me around 5:15am. We looked like a couple of zombies.

I admit to having some discomfort but all systems are working.

Still trying to keep the positive attitudes despite all the things going wrong.

In my recovery room prayers, I asked God to send Grandpa and Grandma Holdren and I held out my hands for them, one on each side of my bed. I calmed down until Mike got there. I felt their presence. What a blessing!

Valerie is running a 5K race for MDA in memory of her Aunt Karla this Saturday. I would like to be there to see her cross the finish line. Karla died at the age of 26. She was a wonderful aunt to our children and a great friend to me. We miss her and I'm so proud of Val for doing this run. It is sponsored by the Coshocton Fire Department.

I will be walking with the "Hopewalkers" team for the "Light the Night" cancer walk on September 20th. It's a little over a mile at OUZ and it's so moving and powerful to be a part of it. We are walking in honor of and with Ginger Miller. This walk donates money for researching blood cancers. Maybe we will see you there. I have a website for donations , but I think you will have to copy and past the link below!

http://www.active.com/donate/ltnColumb/2101_lesliebebout


Thank you for your love and support.

Amy B...we stopped at Wal Mart to get me a stadium chair so I could go to the TV-Riverview football game on Friday! Go Dawgs! It will be a great game! Our Logan is #31! It's very exciting to think about Marcus on the RV high school team!!! You have wonderful sons....and your husband is pretty great too! Todd...thanks for singing our song "To Love Somebody" at Val's birthday dinner. I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person to hear it but it sounded incredible over the phone line! We have an anniversary in November....it could be a perfect time for another performance!

Teresa...thank you for your faithful blog comments all the way from Louisiana! You make me laugh and you inspire me!

Donna...the scripture you sent in one of your recent blog comments was just what I needed to see that day. God is good and knows our needs before we do!!

It's great to be home...
love to all,
Leslie

Valerie...thank you for keeping up the blog! I thought about you during that 4am blood draw! It made it easier thinking about our "special" blood draw times together! I'll be glad when our special times are shopping trips to the mall and fun dinners! I love you!

Chad...thank you for the phone call while we were in recovery! It came just at the right time. It was wonderful to hear your voice! Hope we can see you soon!