No, I did not fall off the face of the planet. A mere two days after the fun of Donor Day, I was hit squarely in the face by the evil Flu. Had the tiniest of tickles in my throat after work on Saturday, then woke up Sunday feeling like a fleet of Mac trucks had driven over me, stopped on top of me, and decided to idle for a week. Oh, and I also infected my son. So there was me, sick as all get out, dealing with a really sick 19 month old. It was the best week ever!
Anyway, all my lab and imaging results came back great except two. My hypercoagulopathy studies came back abnormally high, which is not awesome news because it can be an indicator of clotting issues. I will have to have them drawn again. After the results come in, we can schedule surgery. We're coming down to it folks. I am in a place where the anxiety feels overwhelming sometimes, but I just keep telling myself that it is all for a very good reason. I remember that as intimidating as this process can be at times, the end result is that a friend will be healthy! I'm just glad that I have the support that I do.
Having said that, let me be very frank; there are people in my life that flat-out refuse to even discuss this process. Let me be very clear: this has not deterred me from the end goal! The decision to donate is a very personal one. It is my decision and mine alone. No one can make it for me, nor can anyone make the decision for me not to. I have been deemed an excellent candidate for donation by a very competent team of surgeons, nurses, social workers, psychologists, radiologists, nephrologists, and a bunch of other -ologists. My intended recipitent is also very much on board, because he has just as much say in whether or not he takes my kidney as I do in whether I give it to him. In truth, I made the choice to be an organ donor nearly 20 years ago when I signed a little piece of paper at the DMV. The only difference here is that I am still alive when I donate. My detractors have not really expressed their feelings about this donation to me, nor do I expect it. I've gotten a few "what-if" questions, but that's about it. I respect them for those opinions, but aside from my medical team and myself, the only other opinion that matters is this process is that of my husband. He's cool with this. I have spared him no detail that has been shared with me along this journey; what I know he knows, right down to how many vials of blood they take when I go to the lab. I have been completely transparent. I have created the opportunity for dialogue with everyone I know. There are some that have embraced that opportunity, others that feign interest for a short time and then let it go to the wayside, and as I stated above, those that don't want to discuss it at all. That's fine with me. Not every wants to know or cares to know.
So friends, I'm going to have those two labs drawn tomorrow or Wednesday if the weather is too bad tomorrow. Hopefully we will be scheduling surgery by next week. I know I'm not the only one who's ready to get it done! =)
Til next time!
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