Operation Kidney Drop

I have been a pretty terrible blogger these past months and have decided this is the week I should change that. Tomorrow my sister Amy will become a living donor and give her left kidney to Joanna. I was invited to join her and be her "care giver" while she is down and out in Ohio and will be here all week with her. It is beyond most of the family why Amy has decided to do this, but I have met many people who have experienced the gift of a living donor, including my own brother-in-law, and others while being out here, that I can understand the enormity of the gift she is giving to this person she met on Facebook.

One thing I wanted to do was document this journey for both Amy and myself - so let's start at the beginning. We got to the airport and met at the gate just fine. The plane loaded up and we were not sitting next to each other...until a lady asked us if she could exchange seats with us so she could sit by her husband...duh, of course. Other than a strange spasm going off in my neck periodically, the first leg of the journey was great. 2nd leg...HURRY, get to the gate and...wait...5 hours. Instead of getting in at 10:30 p.m. we got into Columbus, OH at 3:30 a.m. Instead of picking up the rental car at the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel. I have not been so happy to lay my head in a strange bed for about as long as I could remember - it was absolute heaven.

 

This morning we woke up at the crack of 8 a.m. to house keeping banging on the door (Really? GO AWAY!!!) and then got ready to meet up with Frank and Joanne for breakfast and to pick up our rental car. It has been such a treat to get to know Frank and Joanne a bit since I have been here. Frank asks LOTS of questions and wants to know everything about us and our family and seems to get emotional when he tries to thank Amy for her kidney gift or when he talks about what a special person she is. They are very accomodating and want us to be comfortable while we are here.

I know there is a lot of judgment and uncertainty that has filtered through the family at Amy's decision to give away one of her vital organs to a stranger. I am grateful I have been given the opportunity to get to know the recipient of Amy's kidney to learn about how much spunk and vitality Joanne has; to meet her husband and feel his gratitude on his wife and family's behalf and to meet one of her sons, who lives nearby, and see the sincerity in his face as he thanked Amy for her sacrifice.

Once we picked up the car, Amy and I drove to the store and picked up some stuffing for the dolls she made before she came to Ohio. This seems like a small detail, but it was one of the highlights of my day driving around in a new car, taking wrong turns and experiencing the City a bit. After that it was straight to the hospital, parking in the wrong place, hoofing it a mile, checking in and getting on with the business of giving away a kidney.

First there was a rash of people coming to the room - social workers, doctors, nurses, etc. Amy was poked about 5 times to draw the 12 vials of blood they needed and finally an expert came in and got it done on the first try. When I left her tonight she had just scrubbed with the special soap and was getting ready for an IV to get started through the night. In between the many interruptions we watched a movie, talked a lot, stuffed some dolls, and read some AWESOME letters from home.

The family all contributed to some sweet thoughts, good luck and get well wishes for Amy that I saved up until after she checked in. Amy was surprised and touched by all the great messages. I might get to put some highlights in here later about these.

I fell asleep last night before I could finish this post, so now I can report Amy just went down to surgery. This hospital is very good about keeping everyone up to date. There is a card w/a tracking number on it and a buzzer that alerts you when news is received during and after surgery. It will be a long 4 or more hours, but it feels like I will always know what is going on.

It was weird when they came in for Amy - I all of a sudden got choked up. I remember this same thing happened when Travis went in for his shoulder surgery. There is just something about watching a loved one get wheeled away that always gets to me. I am confident Amy is in good hands today. The staff, doctors and nurses in this hospital are very considerate, knowledgeable and solicitous of their patients needs and concerns. I also know there are a lot of people praying for Amy and Joanne today.

This morning we met Joanne's daughter, Christy. She wrote a lovely letter for Amy. Christy had tried to be a donor for her Mom, but found out during testing she has the same kidney disease her mother has and is not a candidate. It would be difficult to watch your mother go through the stages of kidney failure knowing you may also experience the same thing later in your life. I understand the son we met last night also has the same thing. I think it would be wonderful if they come up with an artificial kidney within the next several years so Christy and Mike will not require a donor the same way their mother needs one. I feel that Amy's generosity must also give them hope that one day, if they need a kidney, they may find someone like Amy who would be able to help.

One of the best notes we got to read was from Amy's son, Archer. Amy told him she wanted some photos of the kids and Lance to take with her so she wouldn't be so lonely without them. I know Amy tried to print some pictures off her phone or computer and was only able to get a few that she really wanted. Archer put together a video for her... I was pretty impressed with the results and I know Amy has appreciated this gift so much.

 

For some reason the whole thing won't download, but it is awesome and I will keep trying to download it right. I think it is because it is a PowerPoint and not an actual video. I really must take some classes to learn how to transfer and download things.

I AM Grateful,
HB