I asked recent living kidney donor Cara Yesawich if she might share a little of her story on KidneyMama.com. She generously offered to let me reprint a piece she wrote for her own site about her conversation with the recipient of her kidney. Rather than do that, I’m going to give you a little excerpt below and send you over to her blog for the rest, because there’s all kinds of other good stuff there.
So by way of background, Cara volunteered her kidney to whoever needed it, which, God bless. The recipient, who received the kidney as part of an 8-way swap, was Dr. Daniel Becker. They met briefly at a press conference held by the hospital but didn’t really get to talk until recently. Cara writes about her conversation with Dan:
He was diagnosed with diabetes at the very early age of 3 years old. Dan and his parents, Dick and Lynn Becker and his siblings knew that eventually he would most likely need a kidney transplant. August of 2009 Dan’s kidneys were shutting down and his fears were confirmed. … Dan and his family immediately started looking into finding a donor for him. His staff, family and friends were all supportive and many stepped forward to donate. …
Dan’s sister, Pam was determined and although she was not a direct match for Dan she wanted to be part of this kidney exchange pairing so it would be possible for her Brother to receive a kidney.
Hurray for Cara and Pam and everyone on the staff at Northwestern who made this historic transplant happen. Read the rest of Cara’s interview with her kidney recipient.
If you aren’t enough of a kidney book junkie to buy the hardbacks when they come out, you will want to know that “Larry’s Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China With My Black-Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant … and Save His Life,” aka “Larry’s Kidney,” is out in paperback and for Kindle.
This is such a nice little video from Amanda Gedraitis, who at 21 decided to donate one of her kidneys to a stranger. Why? Because it’s perfectly in keeping with who she is and who she wants to be. And it’s pretty badass.
OK, so I got my final checkup after donating a kidney to a stranger. The top end of the acceptable range for protein in urine is 15 mg per (something). I scored a 26. 26. So I did what you never do, while I waited for a followup test (the ever-popular 24-hour urine test): I Googled. Yeah, never Google health stuff when you’re scared. I know this. Scared myself to death.
So if this has happened to you, this high protein level in the urine thing, and you’re Googling, you should know that at certain times of day, especially first thing in the morning, your urine may have a lot of protein in it, and it means nothing about your kidney or kidneys. My 24-hour collection (much more accurate) showed that I was clearly in the midrange. I’m healthy as a one-kidney horse.
In February, Amy Aliborski donated one of her kidneys to Annie Laib, a stranger whose need she heard about through her church bulletin. She kindly consented to share her experience as a living kidney donor below.
I have enjoyed this experience; more than I thought was possible. My life will never again be the same. I have discovered so much about myself, my friends and family. I am so much braver than I ever imagined.
I have a renewed sense of confidence in everyday situations. I tell myself , “If you can donate your kidney, you can do this.”
I have a renewed hope about my ability to love. For example, if I loved you (a stranger) enough to offer you part of me; I can love the person at work who typically drives me crazy.
This journey has also gifted me with a great sense of gratitude. I am so thankful for my health and for the health of my children. For the week that I didn’t feel so healthy, I realized how tough it must be for mothers with chronic diseases to take care of their families. One of my friends gave me a card that said, “Sleep, wealth and health must be interrupted in order to be appreciated.” So true.
I have learned how much my friends and family love me and how willing they are to protect me. I was so naïve when I initially thought that my husband and I would be able to manage everything during this experience on our own. Wrong! It felt good to accept the help, love and prayers from our friends and family. I have also learned how many of our friends have stories of people they know with kidney disease and transplants. It is an honor to be a symbol of hope for people waiting for a transplant.
More than anything, it has been a privilege to live out God’s message of love. It feels so good to have actually lived what God calls us to. As the Jesuits like to say: “Men (and women) for and with others.” This has given my life purpose and meaning.
So many people have said to me that they would have never been able to do this. But I know differently. There isn’t anything special about me, only that I was open to hearing God’s call and prayed for the faith to act on it.
My three children have been troupers during this experience. They didn’t really miss a beat. But, every once in awhile, I get a glimpse of how proud they are of me. Seeing Mom in the newspaper was exciting, but I see how thrilled they are when their teacher or basketball coach tells me how I have inspired them or how I am their hero. It is my hope that they will have learned compassion and patience through this journey.
It has been an honor and privilege to donate my kidney to a stranger (though she’s not a stranger any longer!)
The transplant went off without a hitch, and the first thing Dani said when she came out of anesthetic, her mother said, was “Where’s Ryan?”
That puts tears in my eyes, because I remember hearing my recipient coming out of anesthesia and bellowing, “How’s Nancy? Is Nancy OK? How’s Nancy?” I waved my arms and his family pointed through all the equipment between us so that he could see that I was all right.
I came out of anesthesia asking if he was OK, and more importantly, if he’d … um … used the kidney yet. “There’s an expression,” his surgeon said. “‘Like a racehorse.’”
You just never know. Wayne Hurst donated his kidney because his father had died of kidney failure when he was young and he knew some dialysis patients. It was the right thing to do, but 8 years later, he finds himself on his way to the kidney transplant list as his remaining organ has started to fail.
It’s important to note that his donation did not cause his kidneys to fail.
Doctors told Hurst if he still had two kidneys, they’d likely both be failing inside him now. “A certain percent of the population is going to get kidney disease. It happened to be my turn,” said Hurst. He also said luckily, the recipient of his kidney is doing well.
By the way, being a donor helps if you ever find yourself on the kidney transplant waiting list (See this UNOS policy, part 12.9.3), so it is a blessing that he donated.
Good luck, Wayne. If karma is any indicator, you should find a donor in no time.
I keep seeing apocryphal stories like this one, where a donor kidney gives a person a craving for certain foods or a new talent. My friends had been asking me if Anthony had taken up knitting or stopped eating meat (I’m a vegetarian). …
So I felt stupid, but I finally asked him about it. He said, no, nothing was really new, aside from feeling lots better, except that … well, every day, no matter what time he goes to bed, he wakes up at 5:30 a.m.
I just got this from Anthony, who became kidney family in June when we completed our transplant.
I am the lucky man who has custody of Nancy’s kidney. We are family, and I am happy to report that I had not imagined how good I would feel in general as a result of the kidney transplant. I encourage everyone who needs a transplant to pursue it and anyone who would like to donate to make that move. It will be one of the most significant things you ever do in your life. We are all in this world together.
I cannot thank Nancy enough. My friends and family send her love every time I speak to them, and most of them have never even met or spoken to her. It is a special gift, and granted it does take a special person to give it.