We have a date for Rob's Transplant!!!!

[skyedogrocks]

Hi All - I know I haven't been on much.  Life was busy with Brendan's baseball this summer.  Rob outdid himself as Brendan's Little League Coach, the team did great!

Good news!  Rob's transplant is set to happen on September 10th!  WOOOHOOOO!!!!!  After 4 LONGGGGG years, he is so ready for this to happen!  His donor is from matchingdonors.com.  Truly an Angel and a wonderful guy!  He contacted us due to our location.  He grew up in our town, but now lives in NY.  He still comes home to visit about once a month, so we get to keep in touch with him.  His kidneys are so damn healthy, they are working at 180% where the normal person should be at about 90%.  He also donates platelets every month.  The kicker?  He wants to take us out to eat before the surgery, his treat!  This is the most unselfish person I have ever met.  He will always be a part of our family.

Next week Rob goes in for registration and more blood work and then the next week is kidney day!  Rob is starting to get nervous, but is so excited at the same time.  He will be at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Any tips on prepration?  We are boarding our dogs for 2 weeks, because I don't feel I'll have the time to devote to them.  I am going to get my carpets cleaned.  Anything else??

I can't wait!!!!   

[willieandwinnie]

  Oh Lord,  I am so excited for you skyedogrocks. I bet Rob is nervous, poor guy and bless that donors heart, how wonderful is that. We didn't have any notice for Len's but I had my house cleaned from top to bottom, bathrooms bleached and kitchen scrubbed good. Get plenty of hand sanitizer and masks because you will want to use them when you go out to get grocery's and medicines and hospital appointments. That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard that the donor wants to treat you to dinner. Tell this guy is is an Angel  Let us know how things go. I am so excited for you.  :cuddle;l

[kimcanada]

iOh this is wonderful news!!  I will be thinking of you and hubbie!

[monrein]

Wow.  Please give Rob's donor a hug from me.  We'll be waiting for updates and September is almost here.  Altruistic donors are a special class of human being.  Evolved to the max of our species' potential.
Big hugs to all your family, including the dogs.   

[okarol]

  That's great!!

This may seem extreme but it's what we did:
When Jenna's was hospitalized for her kidney transplant in January, 2007, we took steps to create a clean environment for her at home. The walls in the bedroom and bathroom were washed and sanded and painted. Closets were cleared of anything non-essential and painted. The bedroom carpet was steam cleaned and the bathroom floor and surfaces were cleaned with anti-bacterial cleaner. We provided a new headboard, bed pad, sheets, comforter, duvet cover, pillows and blankets made of natural fibers and other hypoallergenic materials in the bedroom. The curtains were removed. The windows were re-caulked to protect against airborne micro-organisms. The rooms were ready when Jenna arrived home from the hospital, all steps completed so that risks were reduced to a minimum.
(In case you're wondering, I typed that up for our tax return, as a medical expense.)

[Phraxis]

Congrats! Best wishes and prayers.

PS Thank you for mentioning www.matchingdonors.com

[Hanify]

Yahooo!  That's not far away. How exciting!

[pelagia]

    great news!  how exciting and wonderful. 

My advice - clean out the fridge and get rid of the old stuff before the transplant.  My ex-husband drank old milk within a couple of hours of getting home after his transplant.  It was sitting in the sink waiting for me to pour it out and the new milk was in the frig, but he drank the old milk...  YIKES

I sanitized every surface in sight with chlorox wipes - especially doorknobs and cabinet knobs.

He also didn't take much care about avoiding the animals or much of anything else they tell you to avoid.  He was rolling on the floor with the dog within a few weeks.  During the first summer I would find him out in the garden pulling weeds without gloves.  And he's a performer who is interacting with the public all the time.  He has never had any medical problems since the transplant over a year ago except one little eye infection that went away quickly with antibiotics. 

[kellyt]

Great advice!

Congratulations!!!!!  Planning for the transplant is kind of fun!  I did a lot of cleaning, as well.  I made sure bills were paid early my husband didn't have to worry about that, I pre-made some meals for the freezer, called in Stanley Steamer and steam cleaned my living room furniture, bought new sheets (that was just because I wanted to ) and cleaned out my pantry and got rid of old or close to expiring canned goods, as well as my spice rack.

Tell your husband no need to worry.  He'll be in and out in a flash.  My donor did great through it all and continues to great today.  She has no regrets  (none that she's expressed to me anyway).

Take a personal towel, pillow and extra blanket to the hospital, as they usually don't provide the best quality of these items.  My blanket was lime green and my robe was hot pink!  My room was a burst of color when people would walk by and they all backed up and said hello.  It just cheered up the place (me too).

Good Luck!!!!  I can't wait to hear all about it!    Hugs to Rob!   

[Bajanne]

Great news!!
Your IHD family will be waiting to hear all the news.  Please let Rob know that he is not going through this alone.  Our caring thoughts and prayers are with him all the way.
This is SO exciting
Please let his donor know what this site thinks of him.  A truly wonderful person.  Please tell him about IHD and we would love to hear the story from his perspective.

[lola]

 

[MIbarra]

How exciting!!! I'm so happy for you, your husband, and Brendan! I hope everything goes perfectly and that awesome working kidney works 180% in your hubby's body too!