We're looking at Nov 5th!!!

[kellyt]

I was finally able to speak with my coordinator for the first time since finding out they accepted my sis-in-law as a donor.  She said they only do live donor transplants on the first Wednesday of each month, so Nov is the first available date.  She has two other donors that are working on scheduling.  One wants ASAP and the other wants January.  I believe it's 1st come 1st serve, so I called her tonight at 7 p.m. and left her a voice message stating my donor and I want Nov 5th.

I'm super nervous, even though we're not scheduled yet.  We will have to go two weeks prior for cross matching I think and then we'll admit the evening of the 4th.

What do I need to do to prepair myself and my home?  I'm hoping to have a professional cleaning service come in during the time I'm in the hospital to really clean everything!  I'm also going to go buy some really good sheets and really loose fitting PJ's, maybe even a gown.

What else?   It's going to be a good Christmas!

[donnia]

OOOOhhhhh I am sooo excited for you!!!  I will do some thinking about this and respond later. 

Congrats girl!  This is a wonderful feeling so enjoy it!

[monrein]

Very exciting Kelly.

[vandie]

Woo hoo!!
I am thrilled.  Keep us posted.

[kellyt]

Thank you, Thank you.   

I planned on emailing you, Donnia!   Ha ha  Oh well, I'll email you anyway!

Monrein, how did your donor work-out?  Weren't you testing your sis-in-law?

[Sluff]

How absolutely exciting Kelly. 

[charee]

  great news kelly

[chris73]

thats great you have a donor its a great feeling knowing  you will transplant soon.and able to plan when its gonna happen. Good luck hope it goes well as mine did..God Bless!!     Chris

[kidney4traci]

WHEW HEW!!!    Beating me to the table eh?  Well that's super and I am bery happy for you!!!!  Praying it all goes as planned.  What a great way to end the year!!

[RichardMEL]

Fantastic news!!! How wonderful for you I hope Nov 5 can be locked in and it all goes swimmingly!!!

[Beth36]

That is wonderful!  I am so excited for you and your family.  You will have a wonderful Christmas, indeed.  The cleaning service sounds great.  I'd get it all scrubbed up and sparkly because the LAST thing you are going to want to do is clean!  Get some comfy pjs or little sweatsuits to wear around the house and to the doctor, you'll have a lot of appointments after for bloodwork, etc...it will get old but it is worth it!  My mom made sure to have pillows with her to put in her lap and support her back when she was on the sofa, etc...she was really sore for a while after her transplant.  While I haven't had a kidney transplant, I have had abdominal surgery and it can be rather uncomfortable when you're recovering.  You might feel awesome but don't push yourself, you will hurt later on.  It does take time to heal.  That is the most important thing.  Know that it does take time to heal and give your body the time it takes to feel better.  Take care of yourself and let people do things for you when you can!  I know you are nervous but it will go by so quickly, just you wait and see.  It seems like yesterday we were finding out who my mom's donor was going to be and it's been almost 4 months since her transplant and she is doing great, as is my sister, her donor.  What a wonderful thing your sister in law is doing!  I hope everything goes well for y'all.  I can't wait to read your transplant story!

Beth

[Joe Paul]

 

[paris]

Kelly, I can hardly believe this is all happening!  You thought would be on dialysis a few weeks ago and now you are getting a new kidney    It seems so surreal and I can't imagine how you are feeling.  Your sister-in-law is a true angel.  Tell her we all think she is a hero.  You might want to do some Christmas planning now. Or get all the catalogs lined up, so you can shop online when you are recovering.  When you friends ask if they can do anything---tell them YES!  Have a list ready.  Make dinners, clean the bathrooms, sweep floors,run to the store, etc.  Let people help.  This is so exciting.           

[kellyt]

Good idea about the Christmas shopping, Paris!  God knows, I don't want to leave the shopping to my husband!  He's a horrible, horrible, horrible shopper!  One year in my stocking I got three CHILDREN's nightlights!!   WTF?          I still give him crap about that!!!!!  Horrible I say!!!!!!!!!!!  We'll have to talk all about it in Vegas.  Have you transplanted before?  I am super, duper nervous. 

[chris73]

wasn'tost 6mos out from transplant and  i was SCARED to death , i know who you feel ! once it is over with you will say"it wasnt that bad" I'm sure they will take good care of you. And best of all no more dialysis!!!! yes l lots of loose fitting clothes ,will be tender there for a bit and dont need any tight clothes on..my first visit after transplant i wore lounge pants and underware the DR told me the underware was too tight on my incision and not to wear them. and have someone to wait on you the first week or so be a bit sore getting up and down.I hope everything goes as well  as mine did.  will answer any questions that u have.......chris

[kellyt]

Thanks Chris.  Don't wait for me to ask!  If you think of anything just let me know!  I'm pre-dialysis and transplanting before starting was the plan from the beginning.  I'm feeling good, although my labs are within range to start.  I will have to do dialysis the night before, but other than that I hope to put it off for many, many years, if not FOREVER!  Here's hoping!   

Thanks again!

[pelagia]

This is so exciting   

Please send this  and this  to your sisiter-in-law from me.  She is changing your life and your husband's too. 

I think the house cleaning is a great idea. 

[donnia]

I emailed you a long list of things to ask and think about... LOL!  If I think of more I will email again.... if anyone else is curious, I can also post the things I told her.

[charee]

I emailed you a long list of things to ask and think about... LOL!  If I think of more I will email again.... if anyone else is curious, I can also post the things I told her.

yes please

[donnia]

I would definately have a cleaning company come in if you can.  Don't forget to have them (or you) do a very good cleaning of your refrigerator.  Anything that isn't good and fresh... throw it out.  If you have fresh fruit that you are going to eat... eat it before tx.  I was not able to eat fresh fruit and vegetables for 4 weeks after tx.  I could eat veggies... IF they were cooked.  You should go ahead and try to get into the habit of washing all your fruits and vegetables BEFORE you cut them.  You will have to do that from now on.  ALWAYS wash your fruit and veggies before you cut and cook them.  You will also have to be very careful with lettuce and spinich.... wash wash wash.
 
If you like grapefruit... get your fill before tx cause you cant have it ever again.... LOL... something about the grapefruit messing with the antirejection meds.
 
You will want to take nice comfy gowns... you will have your cath. for atleast 24 hours (I did anyway).  I would also take some nice comfy BAGGY night pants and shirts for after thay take the cath out. 
 
When you wake up after tx you will be on cloud nine.  You will already feel better than you have in forever!!!  So exciting huh!  Do not be surprised if you start feeling 'down'.  I felt edgy, kinda depressed, kinda pissy.... nothing you would expect after tx.  I kept asking myself why... why was I feeling that way... well.. the answer is... DRUGS!  You are on sooo many meds that it starts to do a number on you.  Just know, it is normal.  You will adjust.
Ask lots of questions about each drug.  Take a spiral or notebook of some sort to jot notes on.  I would ask what each drug is for.... and when and how you should take it.   These are the questions I would ask about each drug.....:
What is it for?
 
When do I take it?
 
Do I take it on an empty stomach? (If yes... how long before and after a meal should I wait.... on my Myfortic I have to take it either atleast 1 hour before or 2 ours after a meal)
Do I take it with food?
 
Is the time that I take it important? (My Myfortic I take at 5:30 am and 5:30 pm because I am supposed to take it 12 hours apart..... that means I wake up at 5:30 to take  it.  If I take it at 6:30 when I normally wake up then I would have to eat dinner at either 4:30 or 7:30...  7:30 is just tooo late for me.  I do kinda cheat and take my Myfortic at like 5:15 pm so I can eat at about 6:15.
 
What are the most common side effects that I should watch for?
 
Is there anything that I should not take or eat when I take a certain medication? For instance... I take K-Phos because my phosphorus is LOW   They say that will get back to normal after about 3 to 4 months.... anyways.  I sometimes have to take Tums for heartburn (even though I take Protonix which is a strong antacid because of all the antirejection meds).  You do not want to take the Tums around the same time you take the phosphorus supplement becuase you would just be defeating the purpose.... ya know what I mean.
 
If my pharmacy tries to give me a generic of the drug, do I accept it?  MY tx coordinator told me to NEVER accept a generic on my antirejection meds.
 
I will try to think of more questions to ask on meds.
 
After tx you will have to take your temp in the am and pm.  You will also want to check your blood pressure twice a day.  You will be required (I was) to measure your fluid intake and output.  The first month I was taking in about 2000 ml and peeing about 3000 ml!!! You will want to do that pretty accurately.... if your output isnt atleast 90% of your intake I would tell someone. Because of the meds, my left ankle tends to retain fluids (they tell me it is normal for that to happen on the side of the tx)... this is why I take the 10 mg of Lasix.
 
 
Make sure and get copies of alllllllll your lab reports!!!  Watch them closely.  If you do not know what something is and it is low or high.. ask!  My liver levels went  up and I was right on top of it...They are almost back to normal now.


I would take books, games, hair ties, robe with pockets (to put your little vital meter in),  antibacterial soap to bathe with.... not all soaps say antibacterial but Dial does have an antibacterial liquid soap.
 
If you have a laptop, it will come in very handy!!!  I would have been bored to tears!!! 
 
Also, ask your dr if you should go ahead and get your teeth cleaned and checked ( I have to wait 6 months to get my teeth cleaned... and I have to take meds before I go to help insure that I dont get an infection).
 
Some of the things that I found 'weird' that I wasn't aware of.... after tx I could not have flowers or plants for like 3 months... like I told you in the earlier email... no fresh fruit or veggies for 4 weeks.... you can N E V E R clean cat litter.... you can have your dogs, but just don't let them all over you for a while....no salad bars for a while... no buffets for a while... no sushi ever.... no 'bag' salad for a long while....
 
Also, find out if you are CMV+ or - and if your donor is  + or -.  If she is + and you are - you will want to know.  I was - and Joyce + so now her kidney has the CMV virus which will eventually become active in my body and that can be a very dangerous virus... ask lots of questions about it.

[charee]

thanks there is so much to take in, you have  hepled heaps

[chris73]

Donnia ....That pretty much sums it up !!  That about covered all the bases.... .....Best of luck Charee!!

[pelagia]

That's a really good list Donnia.  I'm curious about how universal the fruit, vegetable, and plant warnings are because Stephen didn't get any of those.  Also, we did not remove our pets, but Stephen minimized his contact with them for a couple of months. He's headed to the six month mark.  We worry most about CMV since he was negative and his donor was positive.