Kidney Transplant...The Test After The Test

        

         We got home and got settled in. My daughter was

comfortable lying on the couch, and I was comfortable

in my recliner. My husband had been here in Utah for

a week and needed to get back to work in California, so

he had to leave...that was hard. My other daughter and

my brother were here for a few weeks to help both of

us during recovery. We were very blessed to have them

sacrifice their time and energy to help us.

           It was very difficult to even walk at all. The pain

was much more than I ever thought. Thank goodness for

the pain pills; that helped some. I thought that once I

received the kidney I would have a lot more energy and

feel great. I forgot I was in my early sixties, and my body

would need a lot longer to heal then my daughter who is

twenty-five years my junior.

          Unfortunately, my right leg was bothering me.

While I was in the hospital, I complained of pain and

numbness from my right hip to my knee. The doctors told

me not to worry, and it was likely from the surgery. It

would eventually go away. I also had pain in my foot, but

they did not seem too worried about that either. To ease

the leg pain, even a little bit, the only place I could stay

was in the recliner chair. I slept there, too. Little did I

know I would be sleeping in that chair for a month, only

sleeping about two–three hours each night. I knew that

I needed more sleep for my body to heal properly, but that

was the only place I could be comfortable at all. My

daughter was able to sleep in her own bed, which was a

blessing for her and her recovery.

          Early the next morning I had an appt. with the

surgeon. That was extremely difficult to go and do all

that moving around. The pain was terrible! The doctors

said that the pain in my right hip, thigh, and leg were

from the nerve. It was likely stretched during surgery

and would take a long time to heal. It felt like the numbness

of Novocaine that you might get at the dentist's office, but

with hot needles stabbing continually at the same time.

The staples and stitches from the kidney transplant

were painful as well. However, one bright note...the kidney

was functioning great! There are blessings even in the worst

of circumstances...we just have to look for them.

          Weeks went by, and I still couldn't do anything but

stay in my recliner. (Thank goodness it was comfortable.)

I was very surprised by how tired and weak I felt. I had

to take between 50-60 pills (result of the transplant) which

were giving me terrible side effects: tremors, hot flashes,

weakness, feeling tired, insomnia, and un-steadiness, to

name a few symptoms plus, we found out the pain in the

bottom of my left foot was actually gout. It felt like I was

stepping on shards of glass each time I put pressure on my

left foot. So, the pain was excruciating! I stayed on pain

pills longer than expected because of it, although, even the

pain pills didn't seem to help.

         I kept wondering why I had to go through so much

pain and suffering after the transplant when I had felt so

much better before the transplant even with my kidney

function as low as 7%...at least I had energy. During this

journey of pain and suffering (with so much time to ponder

life), I learned a few things.

         I had a few epiphanies that have impacted my life.

I found that all sadness, pain, suffering (physical and

mental) connect with the atonement (that Jesus Christ

suffered on our behalf.) During the first part of my journey,

I learned to listen to Him and let Him “drive the bus” so

to speak. Stop trying to take the steering wheel away from

Him. He knows so much better what is best for each of us.

I learned to depend on Him more and have patience.

You cannot force a tulip to come up in December...you need

to let nature take its course and be patient until the Spring

when it has had the time needed to grow, and then blossom.

         During the second part of my journey, I found the

principle of acceptance was key in my learning process.

It's amazing to me that when we accept what the Lord has

in our path, it is much easier to follow Him than resist or

try to force a 'square peg into a round hole'. He always

knows what will help us learn and grow the most. Through

this journey, I have learned so much about empathy and

want to help others more.

         I thought that getting the transplant would be the

end of the waiting and the physical and mental roller-

coaster but that was not to be the case. As my daughter

has said, “This is the test after the test.” There were

more important tests yet to come during this journey

of a kidneytransplant.

Kidney Transplant...Waiting with Patience

       Still waiting in the wings was my wonderful Good

Samaritan Donor. She was being patient waiting eight

months to see when she would donate her kidney.
That in itself was a miracle. Most Good Samaritan
Donor's are matched pretty quickly with a person needing
a kidney.

       My percentage rate of kidney function was still 

at 7% for both kidneys (normal being 60-100%). I

knew the Lord was carrying me because I still wasn't

on dialysis, that was a miracle. Also, I felt pretty well

most of the time - another blessing (with the exception
of being extremely tired most of the time).

     The doctors stopped testing the third donor, and

continued with my daughter's testing. It took some time

but finally we got a date for the transplant – news that

we had been waiting to hear for so long. The date was

planned for March 12, 2014. This meant we would be

participating in the Paired-Exchange Transplant Program

at the University of Utah. My daughter's kidney would

be given to someone else (in this case someone from the

National Transplant Registry, one of 110,00 people

waiting for a kidney). This exchange would make it

possible for me to receive the Good Samaritan's kidney.

We were finally on our way to a kidney transplant!

Kidney Transplant...A Roller Coaster Ride

      

  After going back to Utah in Oct. 2014, I thought

things would move fast. We had donors ready to go, and

the hospital was ready as well. What I did not know was

that each donor took about two months to complete all the

necessary tests ensuring the best match for me. The waiting

game and roller coaster ride was about to begin. I waited

for someone to call me from the hospital and tell me

what was happening. It took two weeks to receive a call,
however, I was ready to move forward immediately..

            
          I felt extremely humbled by family and friends that

had signed up months before to donate a kidney on my

behalf. I had five donors to be tested, and I felt blessed.

            The first donor was my daughter. I had always felt

she would be the match or play a very important part in all

of this. It took a few months of testing to find out she was

about a 51% match...the hospital felt we could get a closer

match.

   
            Although this appeared be a setback, we found out

about the “Paired Exchange Program”. A wonderful

opportunity where more people can be helped by receiving

a kidney. Anyone (family member, friend) can donate a

kidney on behalf of the person who needs a transplant. The

person who needs a transplant can then receive one from a

“Good Samaritan Donor” (a person who voluntarily donates

a kidney) all dependant upon sharing a good match.

           My daughter decided to start the Paired-Exchange

Program process. She had gone through just about all of the

tests needed when we found out that there was a Good Samaritan

Donor that was a perfect match for me. We were very excited

to find this out! But in order to receive the kidney, one of my

donors needed to donate their kidney to someone else. So, my

daughter stepped forward.

    
          It was the week before Thanksgiving when my daughter

had one of the last tests needed (a CT scan) showing a mass.

That was quite a shock to all of us! I just wanted my daughter

to be okay. We were all concerned about the possibility of

cancer. Her chances of being a donor had stopped. As she went

for additional tests to find out what should be done, it took a

number of weeks before we found out it was most likely not

cancer. We were extremely thankful!

         While we waited, the hospital started testing the second

donor, my brother. He did the required testing and found

out that he was a good match. We were all thinking I might

receive a kidney by the end of 2013. To my surprise we

found out the hospital had reserved the operating room

for Dec. 31^st New Year's Eve. We were extremely happy

until we heard the news that my brother had high blood

pressure and needed a month of monitoring. After the

monitoring, it was decided that it would not be in his best

interest to proceed as a donor. Thankfully, my brother could

now take care of a previously unidentified health issue.
Another blessing in disguise. Again we were extremely
grateful.

          Then donor #3, a dear family friend began the donor
testing. But, before she got too far, a miracle happened, the
doctors agreed to not only remove the kidney from my daughter,
but the benign mass as well. The Paired-Exchange program

looked to be the hope for which we were looking.

         Again, the rollercoaster of highs and lows continued.

Patience was needed, that has been a life lesson I have

learned through this process.