Ready or Not, here we come, back to Durango

Tomorrow (Thursday) Doug and I will point the wondertruck southwest and step on the gas. We got clearance from the folks at the Kidney Transplant Center today. They have declared me the new poster child for the donor program, saying my progress since surgery 6 days ago has been nothing short of remarkable. Aw shucks.

I can't praise my donor team at Porter enough. They have been wonderful to work with. And I feel that the surgery must have been flawless. Certainly there have been no complications from the surgery, and there has been almost no pain. For the past two days I haven't even taken Tylenol as a pain killer. No pain at all. Today I asked the surgeon if he was sure he did anything when he was inside my mid-section. A master of understatement, he just smiled.

When I was in the clinic today, they asked if I'd be willing to go down the hall and talk with a potential donor who was showing signs of nervousness. I don't know if I allayed her fears or not, but I thought I'd start out by bending forward and touching my toes. She probably thought, "What a jerk!" But she was smiling when I left.

It will be good to be home in Durango. I will have been gone for nine days. Nine very productive days, that have given me new perspectives on many things in my life. In a transplant like the one Terry and I have just gone through it is the donor who reaps the rewards. I am completely humbled by the people I have met, and the process I have gone through. I'm sure it will take me some time to get my mind around all of it.