2 years waiting so far...

[angela515]

Hello everyone. I am 27 yrs old and a single mother of 2 beautifu kids. My kidneys failed because of Lupus (SLE), back when i was 15, and I had chemotherapy fr almost 18 months that reverse my kidney failure. Then when i was 18 my kidneys started to fail again, this time I had no insurance, so I was told I get no chemo. What??? So what do i do?? The doctors told me you just wait unti they fail to the point where you can start dialysis. That's how p*cked up our goverment is. They would rather pay for you to live on dialysis forever then to pay for a chemo treatment. 

So I wake up one morning when I was 19 and I couldn't breathe. I made my roomate call 911, the abulance came and took me to the hospital. They said I had pnemonia and they were waiting for some blood tests to come back. They hooked me up to the ventilatr and came back to talk to me later. When they came back it was with a surgeon. He was there to inform me I needed to start dialysis right away and they were taking me into surgery to put in a graft and a temp cath in my chest. My parents at the time lived in Las Vegas, I was in Florida, so i did this all alone. After starting hemo I started to feel better after a few days and after a week they sent me home. I continued to do my hemo at the hospital 3 times a week. In the meantime, my mom was buying me a plane ticket to come live with her in Las Vegas. Because I didn't have insurance and I needed dialysis they planned my plane trip directly after a treatment and they gave me all my medical records. I took my medical records with me to the ER in Las Vegas and explained to them I needed dialysis the next day, what should I do I dont have acenter? They admitted me and after a week they discharged me with a center and a doctor. I wasn't put on the transplant list because my mom was being tested. She matched and after months of her being tested to make sure she was healthy enough, they set the date. I was on hemo for 7 months before my first transplant, and lots ofsurgeries from having 2 grafts put it in, tons of declots and chest caths put in and taken out. The transplant went great.. and my kidney started working right away. When I woke up from surgery, I didn't care about any pain I felt because I felt "normal" again, i didnt feel sick, like on dialysis, I felt like I had never been sick before. It was great. After 4 days I was discharged and went home and had a great life.

6 months after transplant I got pregnant, it was way too soon after transplant, but I went through with the pregnancy and had a healthy boy. I then got pregnant right away with my daughter. After my daughter the doctors tied my tubes saying I shouldnt get pregnant anymore as my health isnt good enough. During my pregnancies my creatnine went up some, but went back down after I gave birth. Then in 2004, 3 years after my kids were born, I woke up in the hospital, I had a seziure in my sleep and my boyfriend called 911. My blood pressure was out of control and my transplant was rejecting. They couldn't reverse it, and I waited 4 months before i finally started dialysis again. This time dialysis was much worse and I felt more sick then last time. I did hemo 3x a week inceneter for 3 hrs each time for a year. Then I found out about PD and wanted to try that. I have been doing PD for a little over a year now, and i feel much better than on hemo, and the diet is much better. I still have a lot of trouble with my phosphorus being high and i'm trying to work on that, an I also have alot of truble with my protein being so low. I have been waiting for a transplant on the list for 2 yrs in December, it sees like forever though.

I hope to learn and share with you all.

Angela

[goofynina]

Hello Angela and Welcome to Ihatedialysis.com,  it is so awesome here, we all have at least one thing in common, unfortunately that is dialysis, but at least we can say "we know what you mean" or "we know how you feel" and mean it.  Congratulations on the birth of your children, you've got to post pics of you and the family now that you have become a member of "Our Family"  we have a section for pics so if you'd like to share with us, please do...  Look forward to hearing more from you and Good Luck on your transplant in December...

[jbeany]

 

[Sluff]

   Hey Angela great introduction.

[Black]

Wow!!  I know it was rough, but trading a kidney for two kids isn't a bad trade.  You are much braver than I am; I admire your strength.   Glad you're here.

[charee]

 

[vandie]

 

[anja]

Welcome to the forum, Angela!  You have had a rough road and at such an early age, glad you joined us.     Anja

[DeLana]

Welcome!  You will find lots of support and answers here.

DeLana   

[angieskidney]

 

You have the same birth name as me

[Rerun]

Hello Angela and welcome to our site.  I'm glad your transplant held out for the birth of two babies!  You will be of great help if someone on the site goes through a pregnancy.  Thank you for joining.  Your kids are darling!!

 

[goofynina]

Angela,  Please look in your PM box for a message from me regarding the rules re-signature lines...Thank You..

Goofynina/Moderator

[nkviking75]

Welcome!  FYI, I'm an Iowan too.

[Zach]

Welcome Angela!  Looking forward to your posts.
 

[Joe Paul]

Welcome Angela, good to have you aboard.

[Bajanne]

I am so happy that you have joined our community.  I have been here over a year (just before I started dialysis) and I don't know what I would do without it.  Feel free to vent when you have to.  I see you are good at it already.
There is tons of important information on this site.  And you might even be able to add to it.  Looking forward to hearing from you.
Welcome!

[bluedove57]

  Don't give up hope. I've been on the list for 5 years...and still waiting...We understand and are rooting for you.