My new direction

I started on the path to be a kidney donor this week. My first appointment at University of Washington Medical Center was yesterday morning.

I feel that this is a path that the universe has opened up for me. And the funny thing is, something happened yesterday morning to confirm it. As we got to the reception desk at the Transplant Unit there were two women in front of us. When they turned around my husband and I were shocked to see that it was a woman he knows from a nearby town. He has known her for over 30 years and she was at the Transplant Unit to be a kidney donor as well! I don't really believe in coincidences and this was too much to believe!

Back to the appointment... it lasted about 3 hours. I will be what is called a Non-Directed, Altruistic Donor - meaning that I have no one in particular I want to donate my kidney to. What I didn't know before the appt. was that I could choose where my kidney goes. I can choose to have it stay in the Puget Sound area and go to someone on the University of Washington Medical Center transplant list. Or I can donate it to someone on the UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) transplant list, which is nationwide.

And the other choice I have is to have it go to a child (under 18) or an adult. My initial preference is to have my kidney go to someone in my local area. Other than that I think it should go to whoever is the best match and the most in need, whether that is a child or an adult.

As an altruistic donor I do not choose WHO it goes to, I do not get to meet my recipient. They have rules in place that we cannot have contact unless the recipient and I both agree, after a certain amount of time has passed. I am ok with that because my aim in doing this is not to be thanked by someone, but rather to help them. Of course I will be curious about how it goes long term - but that is not my long term aim.

So my tests yesterday included a chest x-ray, an EKG, a urinalysis screening and a blood draw. I met with the Nephrologist for about 20-30 minutes, a Social Worker who will be my transplant advocate and a coordinator who explained a lot of the ins and outs of the procedure. I met with the Social Worker for about 45 minutes who asked me a lot of questions about my motivation for donation; my mental health; personal info, etc.

I also had a TB test which I have to have "read" tomorrow. I also have to participate in a 2 - 24 hour urine retrieval tests. I can't work out for one week, then have to start collecting every drop of my urine for a 24 hour period. They gave me 2 one gallon containers to collect my urine for these test, which I have to refrigerate. What fun!

In 2 weeks I meet with the Transplant Psychiatrist - another routine part of the process. I suppose he'll ask me about my motivation for donating. They want to ensure that no one is pressuring me.

I have absolutely NO doubts about this decision. In fact if I could I'd go under the knife tomorrow. They did tell me that the process takes about 3 months - so we're looking at the end of August most likely.

I only hope that there are no underlying issues to prevent me from donating.

More to follow...

good or bad...

I was fortunate enough to have touched base recently with a wonderful woman I knew as a child through H.S. (via Facebook). We had lunch earlier this week and caught up. Her name is Ann and there is a reason I was friends with her when we were younger. She has a wonderful spirit about her (30 some years later), seems to have her act together and is happy with her lot in life.

Though she did tell me some disturbing news. Another woman I knew from grade school through high school (34 years since we graduated) has had multiple problems with alcohol since college. She was arrested numerous times for DUI until 1997 when she ran down a woman walking along the road on the Sammamish Plateau, killing her. Once she was released from prison in '03 she was arrested again for another DUI.

This made me start thinking about the different paths our lives take. I know that there are a lot of substance abusers out there - but don't most of them NOT drive when they are under the influence. What made this woman think it was ok to get behind the wheel after consuming enough alcohol to blow a .34 on a breathalyzer?

Could that have been any of us? This woman had so much promise, graduating from college Cum Laude.

And now she has ruined how many lives? Hers, her husbands, her kids, her victim's family as well as taking a life.

While I am not perfect I try to do my best and have recently come to the realization that it's time for me to give back - in whatever way I can.

Why do people choose that type of path? And why can't they stop themselves? To destroy that many lives.... so very, very sad...

A Weighty Issue

I got out of the pool this morning at the YMCA after swimming for 1/2 hour and went into the sauna for about 5 minutes to warm up even more. When I exited the sauna a woman walked in front of me, totally naked, having just gotten out of the shower. Now keep in mind that most of the women there are quite modest. We get into and out of the shower all wrapped in a towel - so to see one butt naked was a little shock. But then I thought, heck, why not?! We all have the same equipment, some with more, some with less.

I think that I am a little obsessed with my weight. I have done the yo-yo think since I was about 30 or so. Gained 10-15 or 20 pounds, lose it all about 5 years later only to slowly gain it back over the course of a couple of years. But I'm always worried about how I look, how much do I weigh, how do I compare to others.... blah, blah, blah. It gets real old.

Then I read an article in the Wall Street Journal last week about several studies that have been done recently showing that 10-15 pounds extra as you get older is not harmful, in fact, it may be helpful. Whew! what a relief. Seems like there is a reason why I carry a few extra pounds - my body is trying to tell me this is good for me??