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Audrey Donates To Her Cousin's Husband
In January of this year (2008), my husband, Tim, and I flew to Chicago so that I could donate my kidney to my cousin Vinette's husband, Joe. Joe and I are both in our 50's and he had been diagnosed with PKD several years before. He was on dialysis for almost a year while he got well enough for the transplant. Tim and I live in Northern California, so we looked at this as a big adventure. It took almost a year from the time I tested until the transplant, which was scheduled at Loyola University Hospital.
Here I will put in a couple of good words for American Airlines, and the Residence Inn and Suites in Oak Brook, IL. When I explained to American Airlines the reason for our trip, they credited our frequent flyer miles with enough to fly home first class. They even booked us in the front row so I could stand up and stretch as much as I needed during the flight.
The Residence Inn gave us a special "Loyola" rate, almost half of the
regular rate. Tim stayed there while I was hospitalized, and I
stayed there before the surgery. What a wonderful hotel! We
plan to stay there next time we visit the Chicago area, for whatever
reason.
I have had only one other major surgery, more than 20 years ago, but as
long as they were going to knock me out, I wasn't apprehensive.
(Now put me in the dentist chair and work on my teeth while I'm awake,
and I turn into a quivering mass of jelly.) I do tend to get
nauseous from anesthesia, but the anesthesiologist said he'd do his
best to give me meds that would prevent me getting sick. Joe and
I went in to the hospital the night before and we shared a room.
I had to have IV hydration, necessitating the early admit. At 6
a.m. I said goodbye to Tim, Vinette and Joe and they took me to pre-op.
The next thing I knew, I was in post-op and they were preparing to take
me back to my room. I had laparoscopic nephrectomy, and verything
went as uneventfully as possible for me. One of the surgeons on
the transplant team told me the next day that my kidney was
"beautiful", and that I was born to be a kidney donor. Vinette
told me later that they had been given a post-it note in the waiting
room that said "the kidney has gone to Joe's room". She
immediately had a picture of my kidney with a big smiley face, jumping
off my table and running next door to Joe's room. Kind of like an
M&M cartoon. To this day we laugh every time we think of it.
I only got a little nauseous that first night, but was able to get up
and about the next day. I was discharged two days post-op.
Tim and I stayed with my Aunt Dorothy at her home in the country for
two weeks before heading back to California. I saw lots of family
and took some interesting drives to parts of Chicago where my family
lived in the early 1900's. Except for the average temperature of
about 2 degrees, we had a nice relaxing time.
Joe was discharged the day after I was, and we had lunch with him and
Vinette the day before we flew home. He had already started
gaining weight, and was enjoying eating the foods that were forbidden
during dialysis. Today we are seven months post-op, and Joe has
not had any rejection episodes. His lab results are great and his
anti-rejection meds have been tapered. He went back to work six
weeks post-op, the same as I did. He did have an unrelated
medical problem that cropped up at work, and he went back to his Loyola
physicians for treatment. Other than that, he's been great.
Joe calls every week and we talk about everything, not necessarily
kidneys! He always thanks me, and I always assure him I was glad
to do it for him and Vinette and their kids. I'd do it again in
heartbeat if I could. I hope my story encourages others to
consider donation if they hear of a friend or family member in need.
Regards,
Audrey
Montara, California
