Back with Updates

 Hello! I'm back with some updates on my kidney journey. I've had some ups and downs since the last update, but I'm happy to share it's been mostly ups! 

Last I left you, I was in the process of getting a lumbar puncture scheduled (spinal tap). It finally got scheduled, and the morning of, as I checked in, I got a message in my portal that the appointment was canceled. I was pissed. I immediately asked for assistance, and the lady called the department and found out it was canceled by mistake. My aunt was my ride, and we drove 30 minutes one way for this damn appointment. Luckily, it got resolved. After waiting two hours after check-in, they finally took me back. They gave me some numbing medicine in preparation for the needle to go in my lower back. That was fine. However, once they started collecting the fluid, my nerves throughout my pelvis nad legs were agitated. It was painful, and the only way I can describe it is as painful electric shocks sporadically traveling up and down my legs. There was a lot of cursing on my part, to say the least. Once it was finally over (about 20 minutes), I had to lie on my back flat for 2 hours. God Bless my Aunt Cheri, who waited a total of 5 hours for me. I don't know what I'd do without her help. I went back home and laid on my back for the rest of the day/night, and had minimal soreness throughout the next couple of days. I'm in the process of scheduling a follow-up with my neuro-optometrist to review the results and determine how they can help my optic nerves. I'm praying for some solutions, because I'm ready for some new glasses and ready to move on. 

The next update is my sleep. For several weeks, I was only sleeping in 2-3 hour increments. It was affecting my focus and overall well-being. During dialysis, I was fidgety, uncomfortable, and one time I asked to be disconnected about 30 minutes early. I finally found some relief after getting prescribed Trazodone. It's allowed me to fall asleep and stay asleep. Combined with my CPAP, I've had better sleep, feeling more rested to tackle the days. 

A big THANK YOU to those of you who have inquired or started the process to get tested. I'm so humbled and incredibly grateful. There are a couple of folks who have made it past certain stages, and it's been positive results. I'm doing my best to not get my hopes up, but at the same time praying for the best and keeping a positive mindset.  

I've continued to find ways to get out of the house and do things I enjoy. I've been able to go to a few Dbacks games and Mercury games, along with some incredible concerts like Teddy Swims and Chris Stapleton. Again, I'm very thankful to be physically able to do these things. 

Thank you all so much for the messages of encouragement, the donations, and for just checking in. It means the world. If you're able, please share my GoFundMe and blog links: https://gofund.me/9b612440 (GoFundMe) and https://mattyneedsakidney.blogspot.com/2025/08/back-with-updates.html. 

Until next time! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Asking for Help is Hard.

Hello! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Matt Sotelo. I’m a proud Arizonan and Sun Devil alumnus working in the nonprofit/community space. It’s been an amazing and rewarding experience for the past 15 years. I’m a proud military brat, as my parents served 20 years each in the United States Air Force. I wanted to create this blog to give friends, family, and strangers a glimpse into what I’m going through at the moment as a kidney patient. Please read on, and if I haven’t had the chance to tell you about my condition yet, I apologize. You’ll see it’s been quite the journey thus far.   Some Background. Like all of you, I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs throughout my 38 years of life. One event in particular impacted me than any other – the loss of my Mom due to a heart attack in 2011. She was only 55 years old, and I was 24. Being an only child and very much a “mama’s boy,” I was devastated. It absolutely fucked me up to be honest. I tried to cope responsibly and...
Read more

The Waiting Game

Image
Quick Recap. Hello again! It's Matt Sotelo, sharing about my kidney journey. If you're caught up, you know I'm currently on dialysis as a result of Chronic Kidney Disease. I spent 21 days of December 2024 in the hospital until they could find me a space at an outpatient center. It was a hard experience to go through, and I'm still very much working on improving my physical and mental health from the experience. Luckily, I have folks like you in my corner sending positive vibes and prayers, along with thoughtful check-ins. I'm truly humbled and grateful.  Some Challenges. A few weeks ago, I had a minor case of shingles. Something I've always heard from docs, family, and friends is, "You're too young to be sick!" I think most people are just unsure of what to say. Hearing it doesn't help the situation, and it serves as a reminder to me that this shit sucks, but even more so because I appear as an outlier. Well, when I got diagnosed with shingles,...
Read more

Keep it Pushing

Image
 Hi friends! Thank you for coming back to read my blog about my journey with kidney disease and (hopefully) my transplant process. My name is Matt (or Matty) and the past few weeks have been a lot, so let me fill you in.  More Side Effects If you've read my previous entry, you heard about my biopsy on my ankle to get treatment. The biopsy came back inconclusive (because of course it fuckin did), but my dermatologist was confident it was his initial diagnosis. Essentially, I have a buildup of calcium in my blood vessels, leading to the red and purple dots. Some of these areas have flared up and caused lesions. It's very painful, but thankfully, treatments have started, which include an injection while I'm on dialysis. I've only had a couple of treatments thus far, but I'm hopeful it'll start to bring me some relief. In addition, I had an MRI recently to determine why my optic nerve may be swollen. This has caused a random blurry spot in my eye that comes and goes...
Read more