Tender Feeling

I am very pleased to be able to write that the strong pains that I have felt since the operation seem to have passed.

Wednesday was a terrible day. Not only painful, but I felt really down and miserable. Thursday was already much better, with a lot less pain. Since then things have remained in a positive fashion. I still get the occasional twinge, but nothing like I had before. A big improvement.

What now remains are feelings of nausea after having completed my morning ablutions and, worse, a strange tenderness in the area of the operation each evening and through the night.

This tender feeling is similar to that associated with shingles, so perhaps it has something to do with damage caused to the nerves during the operation. Apparently, it is quite normal, but I wish they had told me that before I felt it, rather than after, as it would then have been less worrying. When the feeling starts, usually at about six in the evening, I can no longer put up with anything pressing on my skin. This makes lying in bed during the nigh very awkward, of course, and I often wake up, having to rearrange the bedclothes, or myself, or both, in order to prevent anything from touching my middle.

Still, a couple more weeks and that should be over too.

Tomorrow I must go to see a nephrologist in Alicante. Now that I only have one kidney, it is supposed to take over most of the functions of the kidney that has been removed, so, basically, one kidney must do the work of two. Well, my remaining kidney seems to be not too happy with this arrangement and is reluctant to take up the added burdon. Negotiations are therefore in order, and the nephrologist must act as the mediator. More pills, no doubt…

(Incidentally, Tender Feeling is the title of a song sung by Elvis Presley in his 1964 film, Kissin' Cousins. Numerous other titles of articles in this blog are names of songs sung by Elvis: how many can you find?)