Our Transplant Journey begins

[greco02]

Saw the transplant specialist on Monday.  So, to begin....Jim will need a Dermatology referral, a Cardiac Referral, a Gastroenterology Referral, A bone scan, Hep B series, Pneumonia shot and be sure his tetanus is current.  Whew.  However the doctor he saw was amazing.   There is a slight possibility he will need his Parathyroid removed based on the results of his bone scan.  I don't know how long all of this takes but it should be interesting. 

[willowtreewren]

Welcome to the "club".

These all sound familiar. 

Good luck with all the tests.

Aleta

[jbeany]

Hoops, hoops, and more hoops to jump through!  It's worth the exercise!

[greco02]

Just got back from the lab.  They drew 7 vials from me and 18 from Jim.   At least it is only 1 needle stick.

[paris]

I relate to the blood draws!  I feel like they put a spicket in your arm and just turn the flow and keep filling those vials.   Good luck with all the testing and evaluations.  Don't be surprised if they add "one more test" when you think you have done them all.  But, it will all be worth it in the end.   Best wishes to you both.

[Sunny]

At least it's just one needle stick for the 6 or so viles of blood they take.
I had this done again last month so I'm with you on understanding this one. What has surprised me most, was the length of time it takes for the transplant center to do the cross-matching tests with the potential donor. It can take quite a while so be patient. Good luck.

[greco02]

Our blood is in the little petrie dishes deciding if it wants to 'get along'.  Don't know why it takes 6 weeks to see if our blood is compatible.  So, we just hurry up and wait.  At least some of Jims evals are still being scheduled.  They are not making him wait until the blood results are finished. 

[greco02]

  just found out I am a 1/6th match to Jim so we are proceeding with me as the potential donor.  The odd thing is that the 1/6th part that matches is a genetic match.  Not unheard of but still a little creepy!  Anyway....we are proceeding with the referrals (3 in the next 2 weeks).  The Transplant center is booked through June and since Jim is still at 17% function they do not feel a need to move any quicker.  So, we are thinking the end of summer.

[monrein]

Nice to be that bit further along in the process.  What about the parathyroid?

Will it need to be removed or not?

[kellyt]

Congratulations.     It is a long process and it could be longer depending on what needs to be done before being placed on the list.  My testing was a breeze and it just moved along real nice.  Then came the dentist and I was told I needed to have a tooth pulled.  We were in Nov 2007, or maybe December.  Anyway, my dental insurance was "maxed" for the year, so I had to wait until Jan 2008 to get the tooth out, which delayed me a little longer, but once that was out I was listed Feb 13th - officially.  They placed me on the list earlier than that, but I was "on hold" basically, meaning that I was accruing time, but I would not be eligible for "the call" should a kidney become available.  I wasn't expecting that so no big deal.

Good Luck!  It he needs the parathyroid out I assume it will have to be done before being listed, right?  No worries.  Just schedule the appointments and get'er done!   

[greco02]

Long overdue update.  Our surgery is 7-7-2010.  I still have 4 tests to complete but the transplant center felt confident enough to go ahead and put us on the surgery calendar.   

[okarol]

  Good news, hope all moves ahead smoothly!

[natnnnat]

Not far away now.   Such good news Greco, 

[kellyt]

 

[okarol]

Hoping to hear from you - hope all is ok.