It FINALLY happened. I donated my kidney. Here are the details.
The Wait
I was finally approved for donation in September, 2017. I was informed that I would be contacted when Mayo’s Transplant Program had found matches for both Liz and me. It could happen in a week or take up to a year. I was annoyed and frustrated. The process had already taken eight months, and I knew there were thousands of people needing a kidney. I wanted to get it done ASAP.
Also, nobody wants to see a RDN, CDE around the holidays so it was a good time to be away from my business. To be fair, I was told it was a process, further complicated when you are not a match with your recipient.
For me, the hardest part of donating a kidney was the uncertainty of when it was going to happen.
I knew that two months of our lives would be profoundly affected as I would be effectively “out of commission,” unable to work or participate in activities I generally take for granted. Like many things in life, the timing wasn’t up to me. I quickly decided to just put it out of my mind.
I would live my full life and make adjustments when the matches were found.
I learned that some kidneys are harder to match than others. Mayo started with the harder kidney to match, and then worked on matching the easier one. It took four months.
The Call
At the end of January 2018, I got the call that Liz had a match and would be having her surgery in February. Christine, the Transplant Coordinator, wanted to know when I wanted to have my surgery. They try to work with the donor’s schedule as much as possible. They realize donors are already inconvenienced by donating.
Bob and I decided we’d be ready in a month, after we got things squared away with our work as much as possible. Surgery was scheduled for March 9. I was told my kidney could go to someone in the paired kidney program or possibly to someone who was not but who’s need was great. For example, a recipient who was hard to match and who would likely have to wait much longer than the three to five year average. I was surprised because I always thought it would stay in the paired kidney program.
I didn’t really care who got my kidney. I was donating so Liz would get one. After that, it was up to the experts.
A committee representing all three Mayo Clinic locations decides the best match for each kidney.
Liz had her surgery the night of February 28, after her new kidney was flown in from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. It began working immediately. She was doing well. Bob and I were so happy for her.
Pre-OP
We had pre-op appointments the morning before surgery. I say “we” because Bob and I are partners in this thing and both of us are affected by every step of the process. He had his list of caregiver questions:
• What can she eat?
• How do I take care of the incision?
• When will the stitches come out?
• What are her physical limitations?
I had labs, chest X-ray, and ECG which all indicated I was still healthy and could go through the surgery.
Transplant Coordinator appointment.
Christine answered our questions.
• I could eat anything.
• Do nothing to the incision.
• There are no external stitches to come out.
• Limit my exercise to only walking for 8 weeks.
She went over the discharge instructions. I liked this was explained prior to surgery before I was on pain medicine. The most important thing for me to do is drink lots of water. This will be an important new challenge.
I promised my right kidney I would drink plenty to help it pick up the slack of being solo.
We were surprised to learn there would be no wound care at the incision site. I would have internal stitches and then the incision would be closed with glue. As it healed, the glue would flake off within a couple weeks.
I was curious if my kidney was staying in Jacksonville Mayo or being flown to another location. Christine couldn’t tell me. Nothing can be shared until after the surgery. She had a card for me to fill in any information I wanted to share with my recipient, if I wanted to share anything at all.
Due to patient confidentiality, only information the donor and recipient want to share is provided. The cards are presented after the surgery is complete. While the main reason I was donating my kidney was so that Liz could get one, I was pretty curious about where my precious left kidney was going. I decided to share my name and email address.
Surgeon appointment
Dr. Dana Perry showed me my kidney and went over the details of the surgery. It is call hand assisted laproscopic nephrectomy. There will be a vertical 2 inch incision below my naval for her hand to go in and remove the kidney. There will be two other small incisions, one for the camera and one for the laparoscopic tools. Gas is blown into the abdomen, like blowing up a balloon, to allow room for the surgeon to work and “clean things” inside. The surgical procedure takes 2 -2 1/2 hours. I would be in recovery for 1-2 hours and then moved to my hospital room.
Bob, has always been a little nervous about the surgery, but felt better after meeting Dr. Parry. She exudes confidence. While reviewing the risks involved with surgery she calmly told us about her patient last week who went into anaphylaxis shock because she was allergic to the anesthesia. “We just dealt with it” she said, “everything was fine.”
Surgery Day
We had to report for surgery at 5:30 AM. It’s a rare thing, but I was actually just fine getting up and out so early. For the past year I’ve been really comfortable about having this major surgery. I wondered how I would feel when the time actually came. My feelings never changed. I was ready to go!
To be honest, surgery was kind of like an adventure. I had never been in an operating room or had general anesthesia. Being in the medical field, I was curious. Mayo Clinic has an excellent reputation and I completely trusted the staff and systems in place. The staff made sure all my questions were answered and I was comfortable. After I was prepped and ready to go into the operating room they brought Bob in to see me, which I loved. The more we could be together the better it was.
The anesthesiologist gave me something to relax and said I might fall asleep. They started rolling my bed to the operating room.
Next thing I knew I woke up in my hospital room and Bob was there telling me everything went perfectly.
Christine was present and enthusiastically gave me a card from the recipient with all the contact information filled out. Frankly, at that moment, I did not care.
Everything went as planned, pain was well controlled with intravenous pain and anti-inflammatory medication. I was able to drink fluids. It was a lazy day drinking fluids and never getting out of bed while someone checked on me every hour. Dr. Parry came by and I was very happy to hear my kidney was working perfectly in the recipient. The news made my cry. Bob got no sleep on the sofa bed in my room but I was glad he was there.
Day 1 Post-Op
Dr Parry told me I’d probably be discharged the day after surgery. That was hard to believe considering how I felt right after surgery. But sure enough, it happened. I did a few laps around the hospital floor with Bob following with my IV pole. I was even told to slow down! I was able to take oral meds, eat, and pee (the “big three” after kidney surgery). Everything was going as I well as I had hoped.
We left the hospital mid-day and went to the Gabriel House of Care to recover. We were told to stay in Jacksonville, close to Mayo, as a precaution. We were very fortunate that the Gabriel House had a room for us. More on that later. I had an appointment with my surgeon in a few days.
That afternoon I got an email from my recipient. Her name is Shmeala and she thanked me from the bottom of her heart for giving her the gift of life. She has a ten year old son and this is giving her a second chance at life. She wanted to meet.
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