Kidney Transplant...What Can I Do To Help?

                                                   

When I found out (without warning) that I was at  

Stage 5 Kidney Failure in Jan. 2013 (even though I

was feeling fine but tired) I went from a person

who loved doing a lot of things, to a person

living in a recliner. I had an online business

that I loved, had many hobbies such as making

jams, woodworking, Family History, serving

at church and just loving my life in general. 

So going from doing a lot, to doing nothing 

was quite a shock.

I have found (especially as I have gotten older) 

if I ask the Lord what he wants me to learn 

from this, instead of "why me," it helps me a lot 

more to get though the trial faster and I 

always learn a lot.

Going through a kidney transplant and having 

to take 31 pills a day has been the hardest 

thing I ever have had to do, but I would do 

it again in a heartbeat because of all I have

learned from it and the people I have met 

and even helped  (they tell me). 

My kidney doctor has asked me to be an 

ambassador for kidney donation and go and

talk to groups of people because of the 

passion I have for people to be educated 

(thus lessening any fear they might have 

for donating) and people who might be in 

need of a kidney transplant.

For example most people have no idea

we need just one kidney to live a perfectly 

normal  life, or that there are over 124,000

Men, Women, and Children waiting on

a National Organ Donor List to see if they

will receive an organ. 

I  was so blessed to have 7 living donors 

come forward and wanted to donate one 

of their kidneys to me. I sent out an email

to family members and talked about it at

church, and 7 people (including a friend 

of my daughters and a church friend of 

mine) wanted to give a kidney to me. 

What a truly humbling experience.

With a living donor, it speeds the process

up so much faster and the timing improves

along with it to help you get one sooner.

The average waiting time on the National 

Donor List is 7-8 yrs and a lot of these

people die before ever getting an organ

because there are just not enough of them...

either by families donating them, deceased

persons leaving organs to be donated, or

because they don't have a living donor.

So, you might be asking what can I do to 

help? There are a number of things you 

can do to help. (See Below)

1) Help you and your family get educated

about organ donation. 

2) Sign up at the DMV or put on the back 

of your Drivers License that you wish to 

donate  your organs if you are in a fatal

car accident. 

3) Make a donation of cash to the National

Kidney Foundation or the Univ. of Utah

Donate Life Foundation. 

4) Look into donating a kidney to someone 

on the Waiting List and saving a persons life!

There is no better feeling on the earth than

that of saving another persons life! 

Have a great day! If you have your organs

you should already be having a great day,

and know what a blessing that is in your

life. Please do not take them for granted. 

They keep you living the life you want.

For information about the Kidney Donation

Program in Utah (they are the fastest in my 

opinion)

Go to this LINK: 

http://healthcare.utah.edu/transplant/living-donor/

If  I can be of any help to anyone about this 

subject, Please let me know. Leave your email 

address in the comment section of this post. 

I will get back to you asap.

Thanks

 

Kidney Transplant...Donate Life

Today my daughter will be a guest blogger, and because of her (giving one of her kidneys to someone waiting on the list to receive a kidney) I was able to receive a kidney from a "Good Samaritan" donor and am alive today because of it. Being a recipient of a kidney it's hard to
find the words to express my gratitude to both my daughter and my donor.

We wish to spread the word about organ donation and the "Paired Exchange" program at the University of Utah Medical Center. So, she will tell you some of the things she has been involved with since her recovery.

Hello! I am honored to be guest blogging today on the Santa's Gift Shoppe blog. As many of you know, my mom and founder of Santa's Gift Shoppe had a kidney transplant earlier this year. As you also know, I donated a kidney on her behalf (since our kidneys didn't match closely enough) through a miraculous program called the "Paired Exchange Program". This enabled not only my mom to receive a kidney, but another person from the kidney waiting list to also receive one. Paired exchange "chains" can be small or very large, but no matter the chain size, lives are saved and changed forever. It's not just a program, but a gift of life. However, I'll save that post for another day.

First, I wanted to thank all of the Santa's Gift Shoppe readers that have not only supported us through the shoppe, but also through your support and kindness as our family has been moving forward during these life-changing events. Your words of encouragement, prayers, and well wishes have been rays of sunshine as the transplant and recovery process has continued. Thank you so much! The world is a better place because of people like you!

It's easy to get caught up in our day-to-day activities running and dashing about, but I wanted to take a few minutes and recognize a different kind of dash...Dash for Donation. I participated in the 5K event this past August. It was inspiring to see people from all kinds of situations and circumstances come together for organ donation awareness and support. There were organ recipients, donors, family members "dashing" in honor and tribute of loved ones that had passed on, transplant staff from multiple hospitals, small teams, large teams, and individuals unite for a common cause-everyone there understood the importance of organ donation.

Everyone 'dashed' for the cause and many 'dashed' in tribute of a transplant recipient or donor. I dashed in honor of my mom and best friend as well as her Good Samaritan donor (a living donor that donates a kidney to help someone else) who is now a dear family friend.

Here are some memories from the day:

The park animals even seemed to get the message and were "dashing" right along with us.

I talked with many people that shared their stories of receiving a kidney, lung, or liver (or part of one) and how their lives had been saved and significantly improved by the kindness of a donor. I learned of people that passed away and had selflessly chosen to donate their organs before their passing to help someone else they didn't know. I was able to share our own story of hope because of a Good Samaritan donor and a dedicated and knowledgeable transplant staff to whom we will always be grateful.

The spirit of the day was hope, encouragement, love, and compassion-something I believe the world could use more of and from which many of us could benefit. So, thank you family, friends, and blog readers for helping to spread and share your support and encouragement. Let's keep passing it forward in honor of the gift of life.

To learn more about organ donation. click here.





Kidney Transplant...Transplant Day Finally Arrives

         

    The   twenty-four hours before my transplant

were more than a roller coaster ride. My daughter's paired-exchange kidney donation was yesterday March 11^th (a day before my kidney transplant). My husband and I waited in the waiting room to hear news of how she was doing. She went in the morning to have a benign  tumor and kidney removed (the kidney was going to be given to a person who had been waiting on the National Kidney Waiting List).



A doctor came out and told us that everything

had gone very well, and she was doing fine. We were
very relieved to hear that. He did say, however, that
they had taken her appendix as well. It was actually
a blessing because evidently, it could have burst at
any time. He also said that he wanted permission to
take her gall bladder out because they found small
gall stones that would eventually give her trouble in
the future. What started out to be a wonderful gesture
of giving someone a kidney (so that I would be able to
receive one) turned into the doctors taking four major
things being removed. She is one strong young woman.

      After waiting fifteen months March 12^th came, and

it was my day to receive a kidney transplant early in

the morning. The surgery went very well, and the

kidney functions worked immediately (a great blessing)

The transplant team from the University of Utah

was wonderful. They are so thorough with everything

they do. I have always felt that I have been in good hands

with my transplant team.

      As the days went on, I had no idea of the pain that

would commence. It was pretty tough physically.

I was very blessed that my daughter was in the room next

door. She gave me wonderful support and encouragement.

We walked around the hospital floor everyday for our

exercise and to accelerate recovery, but it was very painful.

It made it easier having my daughter to walk by my side.

      We did so well that we only stayed in the hospital for

four days. We had been ready to go home for a few hours

when they told me I needed an infusion that would take

an additional two hours before leaving the hospital. The

rollercoaster ride continued. I had the infusion, and finally

went home an hour later.

     Speaking of home, my daughter at the end of 2011

told me she had a very strong feeling she needed to buy

a house during the year. She had no idea why, but knew

she needed to follow through with the feeling that wouldn't

go away. A month later, I found out that I had 11%

kidney function and would need a kidney transplant.

I am so grateful that my daughter listened to the

impression because I have had such a wonderful

and relaxed time staying in her comfortable home

for all of these months. She has been such an angel.

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.