Been around a while on IHD, but just now posting my intro...

Hi, Jim Oswald here. I've been a member of IHD for a while now, but just now posting my into...here's a little bit about me:

First found out I had kidney problems when I was denied entry into the Marines outside of high school, back in 1984. I went into End Stage Renal Failure the end of 1995. I had my first transplant (thanks Mom!) the summer of 1996 (after postponing my impending wedding). I had this done at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and had a horrible experience. I was in the hospital for about 4 months and ultimately my new kidney wouldn't make it...but they didn't remove it...they said it would be more risk for infection...so I went on with my wedding plans the end of 1996 and almost died on my honeymoon...after just about passing out at the airport on the return home, we went to the emergency room where my abdomen pretty much exploded with (this is graphic) stinky green pussy/bloody liquid. Turns out the kidney had abscessed and developed gang green. I was transferred by to JHBayview and they performed an emergency nephrectomy...but they couldn't close it up so once released from the hospital (spending Christmas and New Years there with my new wife) I was sent home where my wife had to clean and pack my open wound for several weeks until I slowed healed from the inside out. Went on the list after that and back on dialysis until I was blessed with a cadaver donor in 1999. That one was difficult at first too, had to have several treatments of plasma pheresis until it kicked in...I was blessed to have that kidney for about 6 years! Then in spring of 2005 it failed and I was back on dialysis and this time signed up with both Johns Hopkins and Washington Hospital center...we got three calls this time from Hopkins, but it wasn't until the third call that another one came through for us this year (4/2007)...and it was a perfect match...a SIX ANTIGENT match!

Not only did we think it would take a lot longer to get a kidney this time, we didn't expect a perfect match! What we found out that makes it really cool is that the donor was a soldier who died in Iraq and was kept on life support and brought back home who ultimately died and donated his organs all over the country from Pennsylvania, to Utah, and California and back to me in Maryland! Imagine not only serving his country, but still continuing to give even after he's passed away! Well, I've had an awesome recovery and only had one glitch with a bout of pneumonia a couple months ago, but I'm doing great now...just the normal (although frustrating) problems with bones, dehydration, etc. I thank God everyday for my new kidney and pray the same for all of you!