First review

Last Monday I did my kt/v (this means I have to pee in a bucket all day, then capture the liquid that is pumped from my machine that night).  I had to take a break from work during the day so I could come home and pee because ew.  Then everything had to sit in my car the next day until I left work to get my labs done and drop the liquids off- it was an especially hot NC afternoon. I was actually surprised to find that my care did not stink after this.

Friday was the appointment at Duke University hospital.  I hooked up to my machine early Thursday night so I could get my 9 hours in before an early morning. We got there early, but of course I forgot my phone, so Eric went home to get it while I waited to check in.  After checking in (at 7:50) along side a group of 5 other people requesting transplants and their caregivers, I waited about 20 minutes for them to call me back to draw blood- a lot of blood.  I think it was 15 vials.  Then they had me wait some more.  I talked to a guy named Josè who seemed like some kind of organizer.  He had a clip board and was walking around making sure people got where they needed to go.  Then they took my vitals (not sure why they didn't do this before drawing blood, but ok).  I went to another clinic and got a chest x-ray... They gave me little stickers with metal nipples to put on my own nipples.  I still don't know the purpose of these nipple protectors.  I was wearing a loose shirt over top, so it wasn't a modesty thing. Just metal nipple stickers.

Then I got an EKG, and by the time we got out of there, José was looking for us because we were late for the 'class' where they tell us all about transplant. I knew most of the things they said, and a lot of it did not apply to me since I don't have any other conditions.  The main points were about having 2 caregivers and at least one person with you 24/7 the first week you are out of the hospital after transplant, dialysis keeps you alive but it isn't good for your body, the longer you are on dialysis the harder it is for a transplant kidney to work correctly, after you get a transplant you have to take a ton of meds with crappy side effects for the life of the kidney, etc.

We filled out paperwork, and I signed the form stating that I was willing to take a 'high risk' kidney.  Duke has a program where they harvest organs that some programs don't.  These are the organs of someone who was a man who had sex with men, used IV drugs in the past 5 years, or any list of factors that could increase the likelihood that they have HIV, or HEP B or C.  While they test for these things, sometimes these diseases are in the blood stream but have not developed enough inside the body for a person to test positive yet.  Even though the likelihood of these people having an infection that does not show up in testing is very low, they are considered high risk donors. So you sign a form that says you are willing to take that risk (it is minimal), and this could allow you to get a kidney up to 3 years faster (average at Duke is currently 5 years).

They served lunch, which was chicken salad sandwiches, apples and a cookie.  I figured lunch would not include a protein-rich vegetarian option, so I ate the apples and cookie, and I drank the protein drink I brought with me (I have to have a lot of protein in my diet since the machine filters it out at night).

Then we were led to an exam room where we sat the next 2 hours while a parade of professionals came through.  First we talked to a social worker who asked Eric a bunch of questions.  She will also be talking to my mom over the phone since I told her my mom will be my primary caregiver.  Then she sent Eric out of the room to ask me all the same questions she asked him (do you smoke/drink, etc) and then she told me a story about why I should let people give me a kidney.  She said she doesn't understand why people are uncomfortable asking for a kidney donation (really?  Cuz I think that's obvious), but even so, she made me feel better about it.  She also gave me a phone number to give out to everyone and said that I should just put the number out there.  If a person decides to call the number they can talk about/get tested to see if they can give me a kidney (or give a kidney to anyone).

So- to those interested, the number is 919-613-7777

This is if I decided to get the kidney at Duke. I am sure UMD will give me a number for the same purpose.

I talked to a finance person who said I should have at least $5,000 saved for transplant recovery needs (I have a long way to go on that front). Then I talked to Dr. Collins- the awesome surgeon who put in my PD catheter- about what transplant surgery and recovery are like.  I also talked to Dr. Ellis, a Nephrologist, about the surgery and recovery. By the way- recovery includes 25 appointments over the year after transplant.  6 weeks without too much activity, and close monitoring to look for any issues with the kidney, the medications, surgical complications, etc.

Then we made an appointment for me to get an echocardiogram in a month, and that was the whole day.  There was a lot of waiting, but everyone was very friendly and patient. I am not excited to go do the same thing at UMD, but my transplant coordinator says she can send the paperwork to them so that maybe I don't have to get my blood drawn, do the metal nipple chest x-ray, or an EKG over again.