[Joe Mobley]

Pat, KimW,

This had crossed my mind. What is the probability of going to another country and buying a kidney? My question implies a gross over-simplification but it may be a quicker and cheaper alternative.

It looks like quicker is what is needed right now.

Joe Mobley

Originally Posted by Patrician

Cash-for-kidneys tuition plan stirs ethics debate - HealthPop - CBS News

[KimW]

Pat,Andie, you guessed right. I did have to go back to the hospital. But the good news is that this time the Dr let me out after one day! They have never done that before.
I took a couple of pictures of my arm on my phone,but Ive never done that before so I am not sure how it will work out,but I'm going to try to email it to myself then post it.

Joe,
Technically that is illegal but funding would be the biggest obstacle at the moment.
But I'd be a liar if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind.

[Joe Mobley]

Kim,

I can appreciate the funding situation.

I can not begin to make any judgments regarding legal actions in a situation like this. I am not facing these decisions. I hate the fact that you are.

All the best.

Joe Mobley

Originally Posted by KimW

Joe,
Technically that is illegal but funding would be the biggest obstacle at the moment.
But I'd be a liar if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind.

[KimW]

Don't know if this will upload or not. Here is the current look of my dialysis arm.

[Patrician]

Poor Kim.

It hurts just to look at it.

[waterotter]

Has anyone heard from Kim lately???

[KimW]

Jody, I'm here.
Friday night I went into hospital (probable heart problems) Saturday afternoon they let me out. I am currently wearing a nitro glycerin patch,and as long as I have it on I feel "ok",when I take it off the pain comes back. I basically got zero sleep last night. Looking on the bright side though,I don't think the heart dr is reporting this to the kidney center.(Keeping my fingers crossed).

[John Durham]

Hey Kim, prob resolved. The wife cancelled all the cards that I had my hosting on..., but I have it back on a new card now, within an hour we should be back to working like normal.

[waterotter]

Originally Posted by KimW

Jody, I'm here.
Friday night I went into hospital (probable heart problems) Saturday afternoon they let me out. I am currently wearing a nitro glycerin patch,and as long as I have it on I feel "ok",when I take it off the pain comes back. I basically got zero sleep last night. Looking on the bright side though,I don't think the heart dr is reporting this to the kidney center.(Keeping my fingers crossed).

Take care Kim, almost sounds like you should be in the hospital.

[KimW]

The only time I want to be in is when I finally get a transplant!

[waterotter]

Originally Posted by KimW

The only time I want to be in is when I finally get a transplant!

I can appreciate that Kim. On the other hand, I'm grateful you have such a dedicated wife to watch over you.

[KimW]

Jody,
I cannot argue with you there. We have been together for a long time now, but there were many times I didn't think we were going to make it. But after I was hit with my kidney failure there has never been anyone that has stood by my side like she has.

[seasoned]

The kidneys DO affect the circulatory system in several ways, so it is possible that your heart is OK. I recently saw a new doctor, and he said my only problem was that the hematocrit was a little high. I told him, and he agreed, that that was simply because my artificial heart valve LITERALLY destroys bloodcells. That is one reason why I take warfarin , because the destroyed cells trigger clotting. Another value is ALSO affected by it. ANOTHER is affected by the metoprolol I take. YOU may have similar problems.

Steve

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by KimW

Pat,Andie, you guessed right. I did have to go back to the hospital. But the good news is that this time the Dr let me out after one day! They have never done that before.
I took a couple of pictures of my arm on my phone,but Ive never done that before so I am not sure how it will work out,but I'm going to try to email it to myself then post it.

Joe,
Technically that is illegal but funding would be the biggest obstacle at the moment.
But I'd be a liar if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind.

A lot of the poorer countries would be risky, and ones like england may have you on a waiting list a LONG time.

It could ALSO hurt your health insurance.

Steve

[Patrician]

Kim is back in the hospital and will be there for a while this time - at least a few weeks.

This is for open-heart surgery in the next week or so - and this is good news because this problem will be corrected instead of the back and forth and the big scares in that regard --

Then the focus can be back on solving the biggest problem which is his kidney transplant.

Just to let you know - now that I know why his appearances may be more scarce than usual - and so that you can all pray extra hard for him to pull through.

Mother Hens, et al: Let's keep this thread bouncing so that more people will see it and add their prayers and hopefully contribute to the fund or the WSO.

Financial crisis is always right at the front door for Kim's family and I am quite sure that this weighs heavily on him at times when he should only be focusing on getting better.

If you can afford $5 or $10 please send it - any amount will be a blessing to keep their utilities on and their mortgage paid...

Look into your heart and I am sure you can find something to share.

God bless you for whatever you can do to lighten the burden.

http://funds.gofundme.com/1oh40 -

[Diane S]

Pat thanks for the update. Sending healing thoughts to Kim.

[Kurt]

Get better soon Kim...

[jacktackett]

my family's thoughts and prayers are with you Kim - best wishes!

[Michael Mayo]

Originally Posted by jacktackett

my family's thoughts and prayers are with you Kim - best wishes!

Jack, My Family seconds that.

Kim, Our thoughts and Prayers go out to You and your Family.

God's Speed to Recovery my Friend.

Michael & Family

[Patrician]

Thanks everyone for your good wishes and support. I think Kim will see these from the hospital and it will cheer him up. I know he doesn't want to be there and this time it is for a long stretch, so keep them coming!

Have a nice day!

[KimW]

Patrician, you are right. I do not want to be here.
And I certainly appreciate the donations,they help more than can be imagined. the money raised has help myself and my wife make it through some very tough times, helped keep my electricity on,stopped foreclosure on my house a couple of times, but during all those times, even though I have basically begging to keep myself and my wife in our home and help with living expenses.
Today I have another request. Keep me in your prayers.Ask whoever or whatever you believe in to watch over me. These past few years I have remained hopeful and confident that I would receive a new kidney. Now I am hoping for a chance at a new life.I am afraid of this operation coming. Maybe needlessly,but if something does happen and/or go wrong, I want to thank everyone that has donated a dollar or donated a product ,oe even wished my well,or just prayed for me and family.Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[HeySal]

Kim - if you have learned anything through the past few years, it's how to fight the good fight. You keep fighting. If it will help you - I will get on my knees and ask for it. You know me, you know what I just said.

We love you. Be strong. Survive.

[Dennis Gaskill]

Kim, you sure know how to set a good example under the most trying of circumstances. You have my admiration for that, and you will be in my prayers and thoughts.

[Tina Golden]

Will keep you and your family in my thoughts, Kim! Your Warrior family is behind you.

[Patrician]

Hi Kim -

Of course you are always in my prayers and I know how scary hospitals are and particularly surgery - but I am confident you will be much better than you are now when you come out of recovery.

... one way or the other - one more trial will be behind you and you will be stronger than ever...

Keep in touch and always know in your heart how many people here and there really care about you every day...

Keep up the good fight, in His name, Warrior!

Originally Posted by KimW

Patrician, you are right. I do not want to be here.
And I certainly appreciate the donations,they help more than can be imagined. the money raised has help myself and my wife make it through some very tough times, helped keep my electricity on,stopped foreclosure on my house a couple of times, but during all those times, even though I have basically begging to keep myself and my wife in our home and help with living expenses.
Today I have another request. Keep me in your prayers.Ask whoever or whatever you believe in to watch over me. These past few years I have remained hopeful and confident that I would receive a new kidney. Now I am hoping for a chance at a new life.I am afraid of this operation coming. Maybe needlessly,but if something does happen and/or go wrong, I want to thank everyone that has donated a dollar or donated a product ,oe even wished my well,or just prayed for me and family.Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[waterotter]

Hey Kim, thoughts and prayers are with you and your family always. I can only echo the sentiments already expressed here.

I do have a feeling you're right where you are meant to be, and that you're in good hands.

Jody

[Roaddog]

Originally Posted by KimW

Patrician, you are right. I do not want to be here.
And I certainly appreciate the donations,they help more than can be imagined. the money raised has help myself and my wife make it through some very tough times, helped keep my electricity on,stopped foreclosure on my house a couple of times, but during all those times, even though I have basically begging to keep myself and my wife in our home and help with living expenses.
Today I have another request. Keep me in your prayers.Ask whoever or whatever you believe in to watch over me. These past few years I have remained hopeful and confident that I would receive a new kidney. Now I am hoping for a chance at a new life.I am afraid of this operation coming. Maybe needlessly,but if something does happen and/or go wrong, I want to thank everyone that has donated a dollar or donated a product ,oe even wished my well,or just prayed for me and family.Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As always Kim, your health is in our prayers and wishes also...

Buenas suerte buddy..(good luck)

Please come back and give an update as soon as possible.


Jim

[KimW]

Well,todays update:
They just gave me a blood transfusion. Not unexpemyted though.I lost almost 2 pints on the two days my fistula was messing up and I was unable to do dialysis. The machine took my blood out but wouldn't give it back,so I had to throw all that blood away. That heppened two days in a row.
Anyway, I know I will also get more on Monday when I have the operation. This is the longest I have been hospitalized in years. and I am getting more and more stressed as the time gets closer.
All my Warrior friends are in my heart and mind continuously. Some have told me I say it too much,but I don't think I can ever say it enough. Thank you.
Kim

[Diane S]

Kim, don't worry about saying something too much. Hanging on every update you send and you are always in my thoughts. No such thing as saying thank you too many times, or I love you too many times. Can't give too many hugs, either. Sending all that your way...

[waterotter]

Thanks for the update Kim. I know this is a difficult time for you - are they giving you anything to help you 'relax'? If not, can you request something from the doctor?

[Andie]

Originally Posted by KimW

Well,todays update:
They just gave me a blood transfusion. Not unexpemyted though.I lost almost 2 pints on the two days my fistula was messing up and I was unable to do dialysis. The machine took my blood out but wouldn't give it back,so I had to throw all that blood away. That heppened two days in a row.
Anyway, I know I will also get more on Monday when I have the operation. This is the longest I have been hospitalized in years. and I am getting more and more stressed as the time gets closer.
All my Warrior friends are in my heart and mind continuously. Some have told me I say it too much,but I don't think I can ever say it enough. Thank you.
Kim

Kim.....
Every hour of ea day you are having big powerful prayers reminding the Big Guy upstairs that you matter a great deal to many folks, so he is not about to let anything happen to you - He wouldn't dare!! ; )

Now, I know it is a scary event and one of the few times I have simply dropped it all and run 'home' (4 hrs away) was when my dad was having a triple bypass a few years ago. He was mid70's at the time and had numerous health issues for years. I was seriously afraid of such a big surgery.....but it was remarkable the way the drs cared for him and it went well. Just hold onto knowing how 'common' this surgery is these days and that the team is truly prepared for anything that comes up.
My dad didn't even need pain killers afterwards cause he said he didn't hurt any
Now he is in his early 80's and has had other surgeries since (ear and eyesight restored) and I swear he is doing better than he was in his 60s....
Hold onto your faith in God tightly and save a large dose for the medical technology; they are truly amazing these days and I'm sure you will find any pre-surgery stress is for naught.
And finally.........don't forget to *breathe!*

<<hugs to you and yours>>
Andie

[tryinhere]

Stay Strong

[KimW]

I know I am getting the saying wrong,but I think most will understand the intent.All my life I've kept this saying on the back of my mind:
I cried because I had no shoes,then I met a man with no feet.


For the past few years I have been relating my want and need for a kidney so I could live a relatively normal life again. I kept hoping and praying to be "normal" again. Now I am awoken at 4am every day to take my "vitals",and I can't get back to sleep.I realize that instead of hoping to get a kidney I should be greatful to be alive.

[HeySal]

Nothing wrong in wanting that kidney, Kim - You keep right on hoping for it and trying for it. While it is good to be alive, part of life is trying to have a better one. We are hoping for that better one for you, too. Don't ever feel guilty for wanting more. Ever.

Now get yourself well, dammit all.

[seasoned]

Why do they wake you up every day at 4am? With ME, they gave me a machine that was basically automated, and I used it at 10am every day. As long as I did what I had to do when I had to do it, nobody had to bother with anything. They couldn't be sure I was even alive, so that is why they specified a time, and it was hooked up to the phone to send them the details.

At least your aorta was probably fine, and maybe your valves were, so hopefully you have a better chance than I do. I'm still shocked I'm alive. I mean an Aneurysm that is about 1/2 way to the point where they would operate, an aorta that is held together with glue, etc... I feel like I might as well be held together with duct tape. That isn't to say that I PHYSICALLY feel different. Of not for the xrays, exams, and my actually seeing the surgery report, oh, and the missing pectoralis "minor" muscles, I would hardly ever know.

Hopefully you are still on the list and all. I wish you the best.

Steve

[KimW]

Steve,
I am and have been in the hospital for a week now. They wake everyone up at 4AM and check the vitals. Its just part of their routine. After they wake me up I can't go back to sleep from the stress of worrying.I cannot imagine what you have been through. The kidneys are one thing,the heart is another.While we may not always agree on things,your an intelligent man. Thanks for sharing your medical knowledge with me,its been hard learned,like mine has. In 24 hours from now I will be knocked out on a table with my life in the hands of a group of men and women doing something I never could.
I hope that within a few days myself or my wife will post some good news to all myWarrior friends,who are too many to name,but you know who you are. Take Care,Kim

[Patrician]

Oh Kim. My dear friend. We will be with you in spirit on that table and I know we will all be praying fervently for this procedure to make you much stronger. You will have one less strike going against you to endure your kidney issues.

I know you are nervous (understatement) and I am very grateful that you are right there immediately with those that can help you best in any crisis.

We will all be checking to hear that you are 'out of the woods' and on the road to rapid recovery.

God bless and keep you.

Pat

[glchandler]

As seldom as I have been popping in here for the last two or three
months I almost missed this.

Now I know why I had that nagging feeling to spend some time this
afternoon "catching up".

They wake everyone up at 4AM and check the vitals. Its just part of their routine. After they wake me up I can't go back to sleep from the stress of worrying.

Kim, by now I am sure that you know that your worrying is not going to
produce any positive results for you. The first time I was put out on an
operating table to get my heart back in working order I worried---worried--
worried and then stressed--stressed---stressed. I had myself so worked
up they had to give me over four times normal dosage to put me out!

My heart stopped (as in dead) that time. Talking to the anesthesiologist after they 'zapped' me he told me that while I was 'out' I opened my eyes wide and just stared at him---heart started again and I closed my eyes.

Point here?

In 24 hours from now I will be knocked out on a table with my life in the hands of a group of men and women doing something I never could.

You hit that point right on the head. The only thing you can do now for
your health is relax enough that your subconscious won't work against you
when you are out.

That group of men and women are the experts and their expertise will
get you through this.

My friend, let them do their work and let the whole darned Warrior Forum do your worrying for you!

Thoughts and prayers for you continue to be within me.

[HeySal]

It's easy to say quit worrying, Kim. I know you are going to. The only surgery I ever had was a tonsillectomy and a tubal ligation(which was less of a surgery than that tonsillectomy).

Most people have tonsils removed when they are kids -- I was 18. I wasn't happy about it, but by the time people had told me every horror story they ever heard about how people were permanently maimed or killed by the procedure, I was out of my mind, numb scared about it.

I'm sure that is how you feel right now - but to tell you the truth, I've not heard about anyone dying of heart problems who gets to the doctor quick enough and...well...you're already there, friend. You have help there within seconds if something starts to go wrong. The procedure you are getting, while sounding like something out of science fiction, is almost as common as people getting cosmetic dentistry any more. You've heard from many on this forum who have not only survived, but quickly recuperated to live more active and productive lives, feeling much better after the patch up. My father has had heart surgery at the age of 86 and he's better off than he's been for a few decades (other than his second wife turned his hair pretty white).

What you are getting is extraordinary to you -- but it's SOS to your surgeons. This area of medicine is just so far advanced that it would be very very strange for things to not go just like usual SOS.

Instead of concentrating on having something new and different happen to you -- just think...........you are going to sleep feeling like crap (other than the meds making you temporarily not hurt). You are going to wake up feeling better - and will get better everyday. You will become strong enough again to be able to withstand getting that new kidney.

You thought the kidney would make you whole - but you were wrong. This is where you start your healing. You are going to get well again and feel good again - and when you are strong again they are going to slap you back on the table for a kidney. And we will all celebrate.

You have time to rest now -- so think -- start planning for how you are going to live your life when it is yours to live as you wish again. I'm afraid you are behind in making your "morning-after" plans, Kim.

It's a long walk back to Eden, so don't sweat the small stuff" ~ Stephen King

[Patrician]

For those not following closely, today is the day of KIM'S OPEN HEART SURGERY.

Let's all get the good energy going his way - send your good thoughts, prayers and positivity.

Know that he will be SO MUCH BETTER with a stronger heart and lots of times they are BETTER THAN THEY EVER WERE BEFORE.

Stand with Kim's wife and family WHEN THEY SAY HELLO after HE MAKES IT BACK to this dimension.

Rejoice with them that KIM IS ON HIS WAY TO A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE.

Hopefully we will hear from them soon...

[HeySal]

He should have awakened by now Pat. I'm sure we won't be hearing anything til tomorrow, but am thinking Rilda might just slip us word on his progress. I seriously think he's just fine and hope he doesn't rush to get back online until he is feels fully well enough to do so. A word from Rilda, though, would be welcome.

[Patrician]

You got that right Sally. I have been checking all day, but realize she probably has other priorities than us today! I hope she will update us hens ASAP.

I am trusting that Kim will be better than ever or at least in a long time!

All fingers and toes crossed.

[Patrician]

Well I sure hope it is true that 'no news is good news'...

Rilda probably spent the entire past 24 hours at the hospital and may be home resting now. We should hear something very soon.

Keep up the good energy flowing Kim's way.

[Andie]

Hope you're right about the 'good news' thing Pat..
I've sent Rilda a msg on FB asking for status -- will post any reply I receive from her

Andie

[Andie]

Okay Gang...here is the word! <turning my prayers into thanks for good news>


Hi, the surgery went very well. He is doing awesome! They are moving him out of ICU tonight and may possibly be home this weekend. He is VERY sore and in a lot of pain, but what a trooper! I am so proud of him. Thank you all for caring so much. Please let them all know he is on the road to recovery and I am sure you will hear from him soon.

Take care,
Rilda

Good news for all us WF mother hens!

Andie

[Patrician]

That is just awesome!

I am so relieved to hear that.

Thank you Andie Hen!

... and Praise The Lord!

[waterotter]

Thanks Andie, that's the best news I had in a long time!

Here's wishing Kim a speedy recovery.

[Andie]

Hope he gets to go home soon.........it is IMPOSSIBLE to really rest in a hosp LOL!

[waterotter]

Originally Posted by Andie

Hope he gets to go home soon.........it is IMPOSSIBLE to really rest in a hosp LOL!

The food isn't the greatest either, at least it's not here in Canada.

[Andie]

Originally Posted by waterotter

The food isn't the greatest either, at least it's not here in Canada.

True here too sis!
Although...I expect he might not have much of an appetite for a day or so anyway