one year. one kidney

Happy Anniversary, to me. A Starbucks skinny vanilla latte is helping me celebrate. Yum.

One year ago today, September 22, 2010, I donated my kidney to an unknown recipient.  I remember waking up from the anesthesia and whispering to my mother, "I'm so happy I did this." And I still am.

I would do it again tomorrow, but I can't. I recall going into surgery early that morning feeling remarkably calm as I laid down on the operating table. My last thought before being put under was how unfortunate it was that I was going to miss the moment that I had been anticipating for 6 months. Bam! It's over, and I have nothing to show for it, but my scar. It's a constant reminder, and a good one.  I think doc did a damn fine job.

September 20, 2010

October 31, 2010

September 22, 2011

My left kidney is now in the body of a beautiful 29-year old woman in Bakersfield, CA. And I wish I was there with it. Hello, sunshine!! Last I heard, she is doing fantastic. Her doctor has given her the go-ahead to have another baby, and she is thrilled to be working once again, going to school, and enjoying the wonderful life that for so long she had been stripped of.  I don't have much contact with her, but a warm text message pops up once every few months with an update on her health. You can't imagine how relieved I am when I hear of this good news. I still think about her every day.

I often get questioned about my health since that big day. (Physical, not mental, cuz they all know I'm a freak.) Friends still ask me how I'm feeling, and what changes I may have noticed since the donation. Honestly, I feel great. No pain, anywhere. As you can see from the crappy iPhone pics, my incision scar has healed beautifully and I am still shocked that they pulled anything larger than an M&M out of that. And there would be gobs of them... peanut, coconut, peanut butter...

There is one side effect from my surgery that has not diminished. Fatigue. Boo hoo. It's bad and it's not getting better. I hate to admit it, because outside of this one issue, I'm exactly the same person I was on September 21, 2010. The fatigue was expected early on in my recovery, and I was aware that I would have to work through it over time. Well, it's been a year now, and it's not any better than it was the day after my surgery. 

I am a very busy chick, and I do push myself, but I know my body and I know that I feel different now. I believe that fatigue is manageable. It's not pain, it's an inconvenience. I work through it, but it's hard as hell. Some days I feel like I could fall asleep standing up. Even when I'm in the middle of the most exciting and stimulating adventure with friends, I feel tired. All. The. Time. It never goes away and I am having a hard time tolerating it. But, I will. I do.

There are donors that have experienced this long-term fatigue, as I have been doing some research online to find suggestions as to how they cope with it. I know there are prospective donors that read my blog, and I mention all this because I think it's important to be honest in sharing my experience. I do want to be clear though that not all donors suffer from this particular side effect. I want to reiterate that every single donor has a unique experience - before, during and after surgery. Some donors have suggested that maybe I am still not healed and that the fatigue will slowly go away. That would be great and I am anxiously awaiting that possibility. 

The goal with my blog was to inspire and motivate just one individual to donate their kidney. That hasn't happened yet. However, I have met some amazing donors that I have had the pleasure of mentoring over this past year, and that's a huge achievement in my heart. I hope that I can continue to educate, inspire and be a friend to those that are beginning their donation journey. I know I had a wonderful mentor when I began mine and I want to continue to help others in the same way that Cara helped me.

I am so fortunate to have the ability to do what I did. I enjoyed the process, the research, the knowledge I  gained, and more than anything, I have enjoyed knowing that I have given new life to a woman, her husband, and her daughter.

For those interested in learning more about becoming a living kidney donor, please visit the following organizations online to get more information. Take the opportunity to have the most meaningful experience of your life - donate your kidney.

• National Kidney Registry
• Living Kidney Donors Network
• National Kidney Foundation
• United Network for Organ Sharing

Until next time... It's getting cold in NY, I've released the wool and down comforter - hibernation has begun. Not happy.

scar(y) - boo!

WARNING: Post contains graphic photos, but it's Halloween so suck it up!

I’ll be honest here, I have contemplated sharing this post for some time and it’s all because of my fear of posting these photos. But, this blog is for future donor-wanna-beez, and I’ve decided it’s very important to reveal the incision pics. After all, this is the most important part of the procedure really. This is where it all happened, and it's a mark I will wear proudly, forever.

When I was conducting research about living kidney donors, I can only recall locating one image of a donor’s scar from the surgery. Hey, I’m curious, just like anyone else would be, right? Now, I’m not a narcissist and I’m not terribly vain, but if there’s one part of my body I feel pleased to be genetically blessed with, it’s my waist and belly button. I have a relatively flat stomach, no muffin-top yet, but I’ll never be Jillian Michaels either. I’m healthy, I can complete 100 sit-ups with little effort and thanks to my genes, I just naturally have a small waist. God gave me child-bearing, disproportionately large hips instead. 

Yes, I’ll admit it, I did have concerns as to what my scar would look like 6 months after surgery. I also came to terms that I might not like the results of how it healed, or the shape, or the color. Considering the gift I was going to give, I told myself that this was all irrelevant in the long run. And it is.

So, here ya go... BOO!


Before...

This photo taken September 20, 2010 - 2 days before surgery.

12 days post-surgery...

This photo taken October 4, 2010 - 12 days after surgery.
Steri-strips still intact, belly still swollen.

5+ weeks after surgery...

This photo taken October 31, 2010 - 39 days after surgery. Scar getting lighter daily.

So, there ya go... kinda creepy, eh? Kidding. It's not creepy, it's science and as far as I'm concerned it's a medical miracle. I can't believe that they pulled an organ the size of a computer mouse out of that tiny little space. I gotta say, doc did a fantastic job and it's still not healed completely. I know and have learned, it will fade more and not be as tough as it is now. I'm tending to it daily with Vitamin E oil and have been very fortunate that I had no infections during the healing process.

I have had many donor-wanna-beez ask me about the incision.. How big is it? ... Does it hurt? ... How many do you have? Well, every donor is going to heal differently, primarily because we all have different surgeons and they all perform using different techniques. Because my surgery was performed laparoscopically, I was fortunate to have only one incision, some donors will need to have additional incisions based on their situation. Yes, it still hurts, but I'm not in pain. It's more like a hard pinch, and still sensitive around that area. It's getting better every day and I even started doing abs again at the gym. It's hard work, it's uncomfortable to say the least and feels weird (and I know I look weird doing them), but I'm getting there.

My purpose in this post is to convey yet again the simplicity of this experience. Look and see for yourself, I truly don't think that this scar is really that bad. I would do it again tomorrow if I knew I had to live with another one next to it. Hey, it's far less offensive and much more attractive than some of the tattoos I've seen, and this scar saved a life!

Until next time... To all the donor-wanna-beez, keep the emails coming - I have lots to share with you all so don't be shy:   ars0168@yahoo.com