by Bert Williams

Carl Thompson of Marin County, California was a diabetic for 25 years and was on kidney dialysis for nearly five years. Connected magazine introduced Carl to readers in June (see “Developing Story” posted June 14, 21, 28, July 10 and 27).  

Carl Thompson went into surgery on July 21, receiving a new pancreas and a new kidney. The doctors released him from the hospital just seven days later, a very short time for a transplant patient, but he has been admitted back into the hospital twice since then. He returned the first time because he was dehydrated.

“It’s just imbedded in my head that I can only drink so much,” Carl said, referring to the water rationing plan he had been on when his kidneys weren’t working. But now that he has a functional kidney, his body requires much more water. He wasn’t keeping up with the need, so he had a short hospital stay to get re-hydrated.         

“Now I’ve just got to drink a lot more water,” he said.         

Then he ended up in the hospital again. This time the cause was too much blood pressure medicine. 

“My blood pressure got down to 77 over 50,” Carl said.

He actually lost his vision briefly because of the low blood pressure. “I didn’t know what it was,” he said. “It had me worried.”         

But he’s home again now, and his bodily functions are balancing out. Both new organs are functioning flawlessly.         

“My blood sugar has never gone over 200,” Carl said, noting that he is now eating foods he hasn’t eaten in years.         

“My brother-in-law brought me a banana split. It had all that stuff I couldn’t eat before: bananas, whipped cream, cherries, walnuts, and all that ice cream! It was overwhelming! It had been so many years since I’d eaten one of those.”         

It will be just fine if Carl’s brother-in-law shows up with a few more high-calorie treats. Carl, who was carrying 158 pounds on his 6’ 4” frame, has lost 25 pounds in the last month.         

“My ankles are so tiny now,” he said. They used to swell up because of water retention due to the kidney disease.         

“I’m just now getting my appetite back,” he continued, “and I get winded real easy, but I’m going to get stronger.”

He will be getting the staples removed from his abdominal incision early next week. Then, he says, it will be just a matter of monitoring the blood sugar and other vital signs, making sure everything is staying in balance. He is taking anti-rejection medication, a blood-clotting agent, and blood pressure medication.         

The concern about his government medical benefits, reported earlier, has now been resolved. The benefit checks are still flowing.         

So has the experience been worth it?         

“Oh man, this is just a totally amazing trip,” Carl replied. “I wake up sometimes, thinking I’m late for dialysis or I have to give myself a shot; then I remember, and I can relax. Oh yeah, it is totally worth it.”

Bert Williams is editor of Connected magazine.