What Happens After a Transplant

It's been over a month since my son recieved his #giftoflife . Life is very different after a transplant. Sometimes it is tough to get used to it. For example, there were so many medicines he had to take while managing his kidney disease. Now he has a whole other regimen that is completely different. The doctors told us as he gets farther out from transplant that some of the meds will wean down and will be stopped.  As much as we were aware that he would have different medications, it felt strange to just switch it up. But it is a change we are glad and grateful to make!

Another  thing he is getting used to is taking precaustions so that he doesn't catch any colds, viruses, etc. They can easily turn into a more serious infection since he is now taking medications to suppress his immune system. Handwashing and sanitizing are constant.

Doctor visits are frequent the first few months so that they can monitor the healing process and help stabilize the amount of medications needed.

The toughes in my son's experience is the amount of fluids he is required to consume. His kidney needs to be well hydrated so they want him drinking 2 liters a day.

As time goes on, these things ease up more and more. Pretty soon there will be a stable routine. All of these things have greatly improved his quality of life and he is forever grateful to his donor and donor family.

A day's worth of meds

Anthony and Kidney Transplant

Who knew just two months ago with my last post that Anthony would already have his new kidney. I'm this was due to a mix of divine intervention and timing.

The process of being listed for a kidney transplant lasted from the end of December through the beginning of April. We were always visiting the hospital getting tests and evaluations to ensure Anthony was a good candidate to receive a kidney.

It seemed the odds were stacked against us from the beginning. Just as the evaluation process started, we discovered a temporary lapse in insurance. Thankfully the hospital was able to work with the insurance and minimized the time  we had without coverage. 

Another thing that came up during the evaluation was concern about papilledema (swelling of the optic nerve.) However, everything finally worked out and he was officially listed as active on the kidney transplant waiting list on April 9th. Meanwhile, his aunt was going through evaluations to see if she could be a living donor (Thanks Aunt Amy.)

We were relieved that the process was complete and knew that waiting for a kidney could take a long time.  However Sunday evening on April 14, the transplant team called and said they might have a kidney for Anthony. We left for the hospital that night. After testing both Anthony and the donor's kidney again, the doctors felt that the kidney was a good match for Anthony and he went into the OR early Tuesday morning.  We found it a blessing that he received his kidney not only during National Donate Live Month, but also during Holy Week.   Many people have been keeping Anthony in their prayers, and I have no doubt that they have been heard and answered. It truly has been a miraculous journey.

In my local community we are raising funds to help with the initial costs of recovering from the transplant. One of the ways we chose to do this was to remind people of the book Angel Donor. Whenever Angel Donor is purchased (especially through Guardian Angel Publishing), I earn royalties which can be put towards the costs.

You can read about his updates on his Go Fund Me Page as he continues the recovery process. 

Twice in One Family

I felt it was important to talk about what has been going on lately. Yes, Angel Donor was inspired by my middle child who was born with a liver disease and needed a liver transplant. Angel Donor was a way for us to tell her story.

Now, it is her brother who is going through the transplant process. He is in need of a kidney. It is rare for something like this to strike a family twice in a row.  He was born with only one kidney and that kidney is in the advanced stages of kidney disease. 

In January he began his evaluation for a kidney transplant. The process is still going on, but should be finishing up within a month or so. 

They say every experience is different, and this is no exception. I catch myself thinking, "I don't remember it being this stressful before." Maybe it was just as stressful, but everything moved so fast.

Howevers tressful it is, we know we are aiming for a healthy and better quality of life.