Along for the Ride

Well, hello, there, friendly blogger friends! It's been a while since I've dusted off the ol' blog, and like most medical update websites, that's because no news is good news. Things in my medical mystery tour have been going swimmingly, and I've been doing very well, all things considered.  Of course, there are things going on in the world...LOTS of things, in fact.  But one of the biggest things recently has been COVID-19. As a transplant recipient, I've been following developments of the novel coronavirus diligently since January when the first rumblings of this illness began making their way into the news. At first, we all just kind of assumed that this would be one of those things that would creep up and then just sort of disappear, but man...we were wrong. This illness has shut down life as we know it. Social media feeds are filled with people bickering over whether masks are political statements, whether our government has responded appropriately and done...

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...

Howdy there! I spent some time recently trying to clean up my blog a bit.  I figured that - with this new phase of my journey - a fresh "look" might help renew the purpose of this blog.  In previous years, I've found that this site not only helps me communicate important updates and information about my medical journey, but it also allows me a place to process my thoughts and feelings.  Somehow it seems to help me calm my monkey mind, organize my thoughts, and build my team. I also added categories for easy sorting to help with distinguishing my medical life from, you know, life  life.  If only real life were that easy to sort and categorize! If you have recently joined me in this journey, welcome!  I try to be an open book, and sometimes I'm probably a little too  honest, but I know how much it helps me to have open and honest people to turn to, so I'm taking a leap of faith and continuing to put myself, my thoughts, my hopes, and my fears...