So many of my long time OT friends shared this journey with me.
Today is a very special day for me today
3 years ago today pretty darn close to the time it is now as I am posting this, I received the gift of life. And freedom.
I received my kidney transplant.
Without going into the story that many of my friends have heard over and over,in December 2006 I was diagnosed with Renal (kidney) failure. Within 6 months of the diagnosis I was on dialysis. At first it was 3 times a week in a center then I because one of the first in my area to do Home hemo dialysis ,which became 6 days a week. Daily was more constricting as far as lifestyle went but quality of life was much improved over in center treatment.
On January 11th 2012 I received a phone call from my transplant unit. I had to go get blood work done monthly so I assumed it was the regular call to schedule that.
I was wrong.This caller started telling me there was a potential match for me for a transplant and asked me if I was interested. Damn right I was. Bottom line was that after about a 20 minute phone calls I was headed down to get my transplant I had waited for since 2006.
The rest of the day was a flash and a blurred memory,but I awoke in the bed with a lot of equipment attached to my body. And a new piece attached inside my body. I now had 3 kidneys.When you get a transplant they just stick that new one in, they don't remove anything.
I took less than a week before my new kidney was functioning enough to have all the equipment removed from me, but for 3 years now it has functioned well enough to keep my relatively healthy.
I traded being attached to a machine 6 days a week to taking more pills in one day than most people take in a year but it is a trade off I gladly did. ( Except for the ungodly expenses of the anti-rejection pills). This is what I meant by also regaining my freedom.
Tomorrow is my 3 year checkup at which point the government considers the operation a success. I might lose many of the "benefits" I currently have.
But for me, getting up every morning means the operation was a success.
Breathing fresh air and being able to see my children and grandchildren means the operation was a success.
So today is a very special day to me.
I never suffered any major health issues before I was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with kidney failure. One never knows when their life might change in a flash.
Make every day from today on forward a special day for you. And everyone who your life touches from today on forward.
God bless you all.
Even my atheist friends.
3 years ago today pretty darn close to the time it is now as I am posting this, I received the gift of life. And freedom.
I received my kidney transplant.
Without going into the story that many of my friends have heard over and over,in December 2006 I was diagnosed with Renal (kidney) failure. Within 6 months of the diagnosis I was on dialysis. At first it was 3 times a week in a center then I because one of the first in my area to do Home hemo dialysis ,which became 6 days a week. Daily was more constricting as far as lifestyle went but quality of life was much improved over in center treatment.
On January 11th 2012 I received a phone call from my transplant unit. I had to go get blood work done monthly so I assumed it was the regular call to schedule that.
I was wrong.This caller started telling me there was a potential match for me for a transplant and asked me if I was interested. Damn right I was. Bottom line was that after about a 20 minute phone calls I was headed down to get my transplant I had waited for since 2006.
The rest of the day was a flash and a blurred memory,but I awoke in the bed with a lot of equipment attached to my body. And a new piece attached inside my body. I now had 3 kidneys.When you get a transplant they just stick that new one in, they don't remove anything.
I took less than a week before my new kidney was functioning enough to have all the equipment removed from me, but for 3 years now it has functioned well enough to keep my relatively healthy.
I traded being attached to a machine 6 days a week to taking more pills in one day than most people take in a year but it is a trade off I gladly did. ( Except for the ungodly expenses of the anti-rejection pills). This is what I meant by also regaining my freedom.
Tomorrow is my 3 year checkup at which point the government considers the operation a success. I might lose many of the "benefits" I currently have.
But for me, getting up every morning means the operation was a success.
Breathing fresh air and being able to see my children and grandchildren means the operation was a success.
So today is a very special day to me.
I never suffered any major health issues before I was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with kidney failure. One never knows when their life might change in a flash.
Make every day from today on forward a special day for you. And everyone who your life touches from today on forward.
God bless you all.
Even my atheist friends.
Read A Post.
Subscribe to a Newsletter
KimWinfrey.Com
Read A Post.
Subscribe to a Newsletter
KimWinfrey.Com
Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.
"As a man thinks in his heart so is he-Proverbs 23:7"
Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...
Sal
When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
Beyond the Path
==> Zero Cost MMO eClass! <<
Cheers, Laurence.
Writer/Editor/Proofreader.