Vinyl Decals for Sand Buckets

Hope you had a great 4th of July. We did. I am back in full
swing with the ETSY STORE again now that I have recovered

from my KIDNEY TRANSPLANT in March of 2014. We will be
resuming ideas for your life to have more fun with your families,
crafting, recipes, and helpful household hints to save you time, energy
and money.

Thank you to all my dear friends and followers for giving me great and
uplifting comments and comfort during my recovery. Your the BEST!

We will sometimes have some more ideas or stories related to the
transplant, in hopes of helping anyone who might be themselves or
have a family member or friend going through such a life changing
event in their own lives. If you need any info about becoming a
Donor or about a transplant please use the KIDNEY TRANSPLANT
link above or  email me and I will get back to you asap, 
but for now we will be showing you some great Vinyl Decals
from my ETSY STORE to brighten up your summer or anytime of year.

Above is our Vinyl Decals for any sand bucket . The kids love to see
their buckets with their own Monogrammed Name & Initial and polka
dots...plus it helps kids to not want their brother's or sister's when they
have their own with such cute decals on them. If you would like to see
more info on them please go to my ETSY STORE

HAVE FUN IN THE SAND!!!

Kidney Transplant..An Attitude of Gratitude is the Key

This past year has been incredible to say the least. The

kidney transplant, the Good Samaritan donor, staying in
Utah, my daughter giving a person on the waiting list her
kidney with all the emotion of learning and growing has
been a roller coaster ride. However, through it all there has
been so much hope, love, and charity from many different
sources. It has really helped to even things out.


This has been the most humbling time of my life.
There is so much gratitude in my heart for many people. It
is difficult to find the words to express the love that has
been shown to my family as well as myself. Many prayers
have been offered on my behalf (even from strangers) that
have truly strengthened me emotionally and physically...
thank you all!


To anyone out there who is struggling with a difficult
illness, my heart goes out to you. May I share a suggestion
that has helped me? Through this experience people told me
that I had an amazing attitude about my trials. Although, it
was (and is) very difficult at times to have a positive attitude,
I found that you just have to dig deep and focus on the blessings
you do have. When you do, it will help you to recognize hope
even in the midst of your trial. Gratitude in your attitude will
come as well, and you will soon find the strength to get through
whatever it is that you are going through.

I also have found that when I see anyone who has it worse than
I do (and they are all around us) I get perspective. When I saw
this TV commercial (link below) with this amazing young woman
(with one leg) with the best attitude ever, I realized my problems
were very small. It gave me a better perspective, to see the big
picture and improve my attitude into gratitude for how good
I really do have it and my many blessings in my life.

A St. Jude Research Hospital commercial comes to mind
about attitude. A young girl, Kate Foster (#87 on her shirt) talks
about attitude and is a wonderful example to all of us about
dealing with life's adversities. She has a perspective and attitude
from which we can all learn. Click (Below) to see the commercial:

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7bmQ/st-jude-childrens-research- hospital-fighting-cancer


Most importantly...Don't give up! Be strong! There
are so many daily blessings for which to be grateful. They
really are all around us. I have learned so many wonderful
things from this experience as you have read in my previous
blog posts that I would not have learned any other way.

*****From time to time, I will continue to update my blog
about my kidney transplant journey. My daughter that
donated her kidney on my behalf will be guest-blogging
for the next few posts.

Then, I will start posting recipes, helpful household hints, 
and Santa's Gift Shoppe Etsy's store items again  available
to purchase. 

Please keep coming back. We love having you visit!

Kidney Transplant...It Wasn't About Me

After being at my daughter's home for some time

improvement came slowly. I had blood tests two days a week

for the first two months, and I saw the doctors every other

week. The 50 to 60 pills I was on slowly decreased to 40 to

50. Now I am taking 31 pills.

I still could not do much and was extremely tired. I

had two iron infusions and waited for weeks for the iron

to kick in. Waiting for increased strength and energy seemed

to take forever.

Since there was little I could do about any of this, I

had a lot of time to think. I knew months before that this

experience was not necessarily about me. Sure, I needed

a kidney transplant, but there was a much bigger picture.

What was truly wonderful was realizing that my daughter

and I had the opportunity to help many more people

because of our experience.

We found out about different community activities

we could participate in (such as a 5K fundraiser) that was

coming up in Aug. of this year. We realized that we could

send articles into publications interested in human experience

stories. My doctor in California requested that I become a

kidney transplant ambassador and share my experience at

educational events helping people learn more about transplants

and organ donation. (My daughter has also been asked to

be an ambassador of sorts for organ donation from the

donor side; stay tuned in the next blog post for ways you

can help in this important effort.) We realized that we could

also help more people just by seeing the needs around us.

I think we have more empathy and can be of greater

service to our fellow human beings because of what we have

experienced. I know for myself and my daughter, we have

such a passion to spread the word about organ donation and

all the many ways people can help save lives.

This started out as a trail, it then became a journey,

and  now an eye opening adventure. I have learned many

things about myself, my life's mission, and the goodness

that is still in people (despite the chaos out in the world),

and especially the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the

eternal love of a Heavenly Father.

I am so grateful for all that has happened to me, to

help me understand better where I need to go with my life

and better serve the needs of family, friends, and people

around me. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity

for all of us.

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.

Waiting for a Kidney Transplant...Faith precedes the miracle

      
            It was March 2013 (three months since I found

out my kidneys had only 10% function; kidney function

for a healthy person is 60-100%). I had been praying for

a miracle which wasn't going to happen in the way I had

hoped. I had to come to grips with that. I felt my prayers

were not being heard. My daughter suggested that I pray

for the Spirit to guide me (validation #1). I agreed, and

that night was a turning point in this life changing journey.

Finally, the answers started coming one after the other.

        The next evening a friend of my husband's visited

unexpectedly and when he left, my husband told me

of the informative discussion they had. His wife previously

had a kidney transplant a few years ago and was doing

fantastic (validation #2). I told my husband that I was

happy for her, but I really did not want a kidney transplant.

I was adamant about it.

          The next day I received a call at lunch from my

husband telling me he bumped into another close friend.

She is a nurse who works at many schools. It had been

months since he had seen her last. I asked if he had

told her about the kidney situation..at that time he said

he had not. He called me again later that day, and said that 

he bumped into her again. He told her about my 10% kidney

function. She said she had a very strong feeling that I

needed to get a kidney transplant before the end of the

year (validation #3). When my husband mentioned that, I

knew in my heart that the Lord was answering my prayers...

I needed a kidney transplant. Up to that point I had thought

a kidney transplant was the closest thing to death...not the

answer to my prayers.

            The following day I got up and turned on the

television. I was so surprised to hear the word donor

coming from it. It intrigued me because I usually never

watched that station. The show was about three different

people waiting for a kidney transplant (validation #4).  

I was glued to the set. I felt it was another answer to

prayer...for me to learn about kidney disease and

transplants... and I did.

          My mind and heart were making a complete 180

degree turn-around. Then, the next day our friend, the

school nurse (mentioned above) stopped by our house

with flowers and dinner. We had a great discussion. She

helped educate me about kidney transplants and their

benefits. She shared with me some things in her life

which connected to what she was telling me about

kidney transplants. (validation #5) Consequently, she

felt she was being helped by our discussion as well.

           I thought my prayers were not being heard. 

However, I realized that they were indeed being heard; 

the answers were coming through other people to me, 

one right after another. There were five validations that

the Lord was letting me know His will for me to receive

a transplant.

           Now that I knew what He wanted for me, I

researched the Internet and talked with doctors. My

nephrologist (kidney doctor) could hardly believe it.

When she asked what happened, I pointed to the

heavens and said I finally found out what He wanted.

I have been at peace with my decision ever since.

The next phase of growing and understanding was

about to begin.

Kidney Transplant: A Journey of Hope

             










             
It has been a long time (approximately 1 year) since I

have updated or written on my blog. The reason being, I found

out January 2013 that my total kidney function was at 10%;

normal is between 60-100%. When your kidney function goes

down to 15% or less you usually need dialysis to function on a

more normal level. My kidney function is currently at 7%, and

miraculously I am still not receiving dialysis. I consider it a

blessing.

              

             Most people know little about kidney disease...I was

one of those people. However I changed that! I researched and

educated myself, and am now in the process of preparing to
receive a kidney transplant in the near future.

               

               That's the good news! The bad news is knowing that

the majority of people do not know that high blood pressure,

diabetes, and Ibuprofen contribute greatly to the chances of

kidney (or renal) failure, that more than a 100,000 people are

on a waiting list for a deceased donor's kidney or that you only

need one kidney to function and live a normal life.

               

                I am one of the lucky ones with five living donors

(family and friends) offering me one of their kidneys so that

I can live. This is one of the most humbling and wonderful 
blessings that has come into my life. I will continue writing

on my blog about the high and lows of the journey and what

I have learned from this challenge in my life.

               

                 It is my hope that by writing about this experience, 

people everywhere will become well informed about this disease...

to help you, your family, friends and maybe even inspire some

changes in thinking about and considering organ donation that

saves lives.

              

                I invite you to come and join me in this journey of hope and enlightenment...