Hi KristinKay! The important pillow is the one that gives the most comfort, be it a scent, a feel, whatever gives YOU comfort, But MAYO will gift you a green kidney shaped pillow that you can place anywhere you don’t want pressure! We travelled to Mayo Scottsdale, from Las Vegas by car and we just moved into an Airbnb for the duration, so extra pillows were easy enough. Also, drinking water by the case! Phoenix water is gross. And you will be drinking gallons😊 Mayo will also give you a large, lidded plastic mug.
I’m going both ways here, as my husband was the recipient and our daughter, K, was the donor. K’s bloating seemed like a week. She was walking same day, albeit slowly, but faithfully! ( her own caregiver moved right in with us..it was an ideal situation.) they walked every 2 hours, she was released next day, and had to stay a week for testing after, to be sure all was well. The pillows were packed around her like a newborn, in the car, and they stopped nearly every hour when she needed to change positions, or pee! She did find stairs were out of the question the 1st week she was home, and a reclining chair was a godsend…with pillows of course! She is a walker, and in good physical condition so walking fit into the routine.

My husband, at 75, had organ rejection, 3 days after transplant. However Mayo put him back in, blasted the rejection to hell for 4 days, and he progressed as well. We were actually in Scottsdale for nearly 8 weeks before heading home…with the pillows, the 4 hour drive took 7 hours with our stops.
Walking will be your lifesaver, both of you! Not fun, at first, but restorative. Go as far as is comfortable as often as you can, sleep in between. We progressed from a walker to a cane, to nothing within 2 weeks for my husband.

Yes, a nutritionist met with us! Very helpful, though G had been on the kidney disease diet for over a year, so not much different. Take notes! For myself, everything was a whirl, especially as Covid was showing its ugly face and I found I could refer to notes, again, after a conversation.
Oh my goodness, let me just ramble here😊.

Oh, we also found the 7 day pill container to be so helpful, as well as timers on our phones/ watches.

Remember, the only stupid question is the one you DON’T ask. The Mayo team is fantastic, but the people here are amazing! My very best wishes to you all, with hopes of a speedy recovery.