Along for the Ride

The other day during a diversity training at work, we were asked to make a bubble map of all the different groups in which we see ourselves. Among terms like woman, wife, friend, teacher, and childfree was one word that seemed to jump out - sick . The colleague sitting next to me was my shoulder-partner for sharing time.  She looked over my paper, nodding gently as she read each word.  When her eyes fell upon that word, she paused and looked up at me.  "Do you really see yourself this way?"  Her finger hovered over the word. Her expression conveyed gentle curiosity without an ounce of judgment. At that moment, I realized that yes...I do see myself that way. She nodded slowly, and the training continued. Although nothing else was mentioned about that word that day, my mind has been circling around this concept of sickness. For the last thirteen years, a large percentage of my time has been spent diagnosing, treating, and managing chronic illness. At times when I f...

I can't quite believe this, but yesterday marked 8 weeks from transplant!  Things have been going very well during these last two months.  I've been recovering at home, and I've enjoyed some relaxing time reading, watching Netflix, and catching up on household chores. When I was released from the hospital, I had Steri-strips along my incisions and a list of activity restrictions: no driving, no lifting, no exercise except gentle walking in the house, no crowds, no shopping at stores, no visiting kids, and no time spent outside.  Since then, some of the restrictions have been lifted.  I can drive again, and I can go outside for short periods of time as long as I wear a surgical mask.  I can go to stores as long as they aren't busy (so no weekends or evenings), and I have to wear my surgical mask at all times, clean my hands thoroughly, and wipe down the carts.  Needless to say, we've become BIG fans of curbside pick-up for groceries and Amazon for delivery...

I am sitting down to write this entry a full four weeks post-kidney-transplant!  That's right!  On Sunday, May 13, I got "the call" and received a kidney transplant in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, May 14, 2018.  For the last few weeks, I've been thinking that I wanted to get online and write up a series of blog posts about that experience.  Believe it or not, despite being in recovery from surgery, those four weeks have been super busy!  So I'm just now getting around to gathering my thoughts and putting digital "pen to paper." First, to clarify, I was technically listed on two transplant lists.  I was placed on the deceased donor list just last summer.  However, because they count your dialysis time as "wait time," I had accrued almost 6 1/2 years of wait time on the list, which put me pretty close to the top.  The average wait time in the DFW area with my blood type (O+) is 6-7 years, so I knew that it was possible I could get ...

Well, hello there!  Guess what?!?!  I have an UPDATE!!!! Y'all may remember that I mentioned in my last post that I had a potential living donor who has generously volunteered to go through the testing process. Well...he isn't a match for me. BUT... he's open to a paired donation, which is where they match us with another pair (or multiple pairs) to swap kidneys.  So, in other words, he won't donate directly to me.  Instead, his kidney will go to another person on the list who also has a living donor.  Then that living donor (or another one) will give to me. So...the news is that he is approved and now fully listed! The way I envision this is... Imagine you're going to a concert.  You get in the line, buy a ticket, and now you're in the venue with thousands and thousands of other people.  Groups of people are in their sections, but they aren't allowed to go to different sections.  This is like the cadaver donor list.  Lots, an...

Greeting and salutations, dear friends! Happy 2018!  I hope you've had a wonderfully relaxing holiday break.  I know we have!  Tomorrow, it's back to school for me, but Mike has the rest of the week off as his post-holiday PTO (personal time off).  I'm sure he'll enjoy a quiet house for a few days! I thought I'd pop online and a post a quick entry just to fill everyone in on the progress for #teamkidney. Basically, I'm still waiting.  All of my potential direct donors have been eliminated, but I do have one more very generous donor who is open to doing a paired donation (where h/she will donate to another person who will then have someone donate to me).  They are getting started on the workup and testing for this potential donor, so we shall see how that goes. The donor process is completely confidential, so - understandably - my docs and transplant team don't give me any updates on the donors.  The only way I know anything is that this potenti...

Greetings, fine friends!  Look at this!  Two updates on the same day?!?!  Yup. Today my mom and I went down to UTSW to see the infectious diseases doctor for a follow-up.  He still wants me to try to track down some documentation of my vaccinations from when I was a kid.  Apparently, I have antibodies for mumps and rubella, but not measles.  With the increase in anti-vaccine parents over recent years, he's concerned about me returning to the classroom without documentation of my vaccines.  Basically, if a kid comes in my room and happens to have skipped his/her vaccines, I could be in serious trouble.  So tomorrow I'm calling my university to see if they have any student records that would show my vaccines.  Public Service Announcement: Keep your vaccine records.  You just never know when you might need them. He also shared that - right after transplant - I'll be given three doses of an IV medication that will essentially wipe out al...