The day of my surgery is 15th January 2004, the starting day of all my anxieties and happiness. In the morning, after a good antibiotic hot water bath, I was given a sterilized single piece dress to be worn for surgery. At about 7.30 AM, I was laid on a stretcher with everything covered except my head.

I could see many relatives standing around me and telling me a number of things. As I was going to a surgery and everyone was telling me to pray till the beginning of surgery. I did as they all told, but when I entered the theatre, I was curious on seeing everything around me in the theatre.

Before going to surgery, a nurse in the ward prayed and finally I was taken to the Operation Theatre. On entering the theatre, I could see a number of patients waiting for surgery. May be their surgery was over, I did not know. Then, I was waiting in a room before I was taken inside. There I started to pray to God. Even during my previous surgery, before taking me inside the surgery room, they left me in a very small room for sometime, probably to pray. Then, again I was in another room for sometime.

There I had a surprise. Beside me, I saw a lady in a stretcher, with full of horror in her eyes. It was actually my mother and she was terribly frightened. I called my mother, but there was no response. I just laughed, but she did not even smile. Just saw me, like seeing someone else and was taken away. All this happened in less than 15 seconds.

Then finally, I was taken into the surgery room. As I told you before, I was curious and it was amazing to see all the computer equipments, the lights above my head and everything around me. Just one inch below the knuckle of my right ring finger, they inserted a needle with a tube, probably for easy access of injecting saline or anything. They also did another thing, which frightened me till now and during the whole procedure, I was conscious and saw everything.

At the inside of my elbow, one inch below, they inserted a wire. The wire was actually like a headphone’s wire; two wires joined side by side were inserted. It was a very lengthy wire. I asked the doctor, till where it will be inserted. I thought they might cut the wire when the destination is reached. The doctor casually told me, “to the heart”. On hearing that I was shocked. They were going on pushing the wire and it keeps on going. Finally they saw its destination in the computer and found something was wrong and I could hear everything. What they found wrong was, instead of inserting the wire somewhere in the heart they inserted it elsewhere. But as it was wrongly inserted, they pulled the whole length back and tried to insert it again. Then, I began to feel slight decreased consciousness and finally slept well due to the effect of anaesthesia.

After surgery, I came to consciousness immediately and asked a nurse there for the time. She told me that it was 12:15 PM. I asked about my mother and they said she is okay. Then again I called the nurses and told them that pain is burning and asked them to do something to reduce it. I cried a lot at that time and prayed to God to somehow reduce it. That was the third time I felt unbearable pain.

There was confusion at the theatre. After everything was over, normally, they take the patient immediately to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to avoid infections. But, for me, I was outside the surgery room and the nurses around me told the doctor should come and inspect me after that I will be taken to ICU. We were waiting for the doctor for two hours, but he did not come. Still I was crying as I had terrible, severe and worst pain. I wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible. Finally, at about 2:15 PM, the doctor came and shouted at all the nurses, that, why should they be waiting for him (the doctor) as the patient is alright. I was happy as he advised them and very happy that I was going to leave that room.

I was taken in a stretcher to the Renal Transplant Unit (RTU). Outside the theatre, I saw all my relatives, waiting to see me and who did not know, why it was so late and what happened in the theatre. When I was moving in the stretcher, I called my father to come near me, removed my mask and told him, ‘I am feeling terrible pain’. The doctor beside me told me not to worry and they will take care of me.

Basic steps of Kidney Transplantation:

The operation is done under general anesthesia.
A skin incision of about 8 to 10 inches is made in the lower abdomen. The new kidney is placed just outside the abdominal cavity, in a different location from the old kidneys, usually above the groin in the pelvis, near the bladder. The artery and vein of the new kidney are sewn to the patient's artery and vein that go to the legs. The ureters (tube that carries urine) of the new kidney is attached to the patient's bladder.
The incision is sewn closed.

Duration: 2 ½ to 5 hours.