#giveakidney

[101sweetsweets]

Come and do some Trick or Treating on our neighborhood, take pictures and have all around healthy fun, while enjoying some Tostilocos, Tostinachos, Tamarindo apples, Manzanas locas and more. Also come see our Spooky Town set up (only per request). Proceeds will be for Louie's Kidney Transplant upcoming costs. Address is 551 Sawtelle Avenue, San Diego, CA 92114 #kidneytransplant #GiveaKidney #donatelife #shareaspare #savealife #Porras #SweetSweets #SanDiegoSweets #tamarindoapples #101SweetSweets #tacosdetamarindo #tostinachos #tostilocos (at Sweet Sweets) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4OjhBXnnme/?igshid=1rzohsvi5zgko

[haikugenerosity-blog]

68/365 #HaikuCalendar: #WorldKidneyDay #IfYouHave #AKidneyToSpare #PleaseShare/ #HaikuGenerosity #poetry 4 #World #Kidney #Day #Awareness #KidneyDay #GiveAHaiku 2 #GiveAKidney

[farsidepixie-blog]

One week from today I will have the privilege to do one of the most important things I have ever done. I have been blessed with the opportunity to donate a kidney to my dad. My dad has had high blood pressure and diabetes my whole life so and he's never been the most health conscious person. He's a a big burly guy, with a beard, "beer belly" and scattered tattoos. On first site he looks like a classic biker dude, big and intimidating but reality is far from that. My dad will strike up a conversation with anyone. Though at home he's a man of few words, socially he's about as friendly as they come. Anyone who grew up around my dad will tell you his story telling skills are legendary. That's the first thing that comes to mind when they reminisce about the old days. He's never been the one to be mushy and affectionate but rather show his deep concern and care by giving the shirt off of his back if he has to. When I was 15 my dad was on a road trip with his friends on their bikes when he caught double pneumonia. We didn't know immediately what was wrong when he got back but we definitely knew something wasn't right. When we got him to his Doctor they immediately called the ambulance and rushed him to the hospital. They told us one more day and he wouldn't have made it. From that point on it was constant downhill turns, health scares and trips to the emergency room. Then when I turned 21 and was pregnant with my daughter he had another huge health scare. I rushed him to the hospital one day and they told us his kidneys were failing, like due to his diabetes and he would need emergency dialysis. He had a tube inserted into his chest until they were able to grow a vain in his arm, large enough to use for dialysis (they refer to this as a fistula). After beginning dialysis they told us he would want to get on the transplant list. It wouldn't be a cure but it would help him live more comfortably and leave him with more of a life to live than dialysis. Dialysis takes such a toll on the body, they say typically every year on dialysis takes 5 years off of your life span. During his testing to be evaluated and placed on the transplant list they found a mass on one of his kidneys. They took a biopsy and found out it was cancerous. This lead to him undergoing a partial nephrectomy (partial removal of the kidney) to cut out the cancer. Thankfully it was all removed without him having to undergo chemotherapy or having to take any cancer meds. Now, however, he would have to wait 2 additional years to be placed on a transplant list to make sure the cancer didn't return. Had he not been diagnosed with kidney failure and had to undergo these extra tests the cancer likely would have been caught too late. This was all a blessing in disguise, even though none of it felt that way at the time. Watching my dad got though these ailments made me realize I never wanted my daughter to go through the same thing so I started taking better care of myself and focus on bettering myself physically, mentally and spiritually. It was hard and at times I broke down and cried out to God asking him why? I couldn't understand and my heart felt like it couldn't take much more. Since I was 15 I've lived in constant fear of getting a phone call that my dad didn't wake up one morning, or had a heart attack caused by anther heart issue, or hear that the cancer wasn't gone and now it was worse. I am 26 now, I'll turn 27 in June and today my dad is still cancer free and I am now a week away from giving my dad back some of his life. Every day isn't easy, it's not a walk in the park. Some days feel hopeless and unbearable and like everything is falling apart and everything is going wrong but please take heart. If you get anything out of this part of my story, please know that it will get better, the dark doesn't last forever and above all there is HOPE. I have overcome a lot, Ssomehow kept pushing when I wanted to end it all, and kept my faith even when it seemed impossible. There is so much more light in this world than darkness if you just allow it to shine in. Have courage and know that you are not alone. Stay strong, keep your head up and grab hold of the life and happiness you deserve. Love and light always♡

[giveakidney-blog]

Organ Donation

Altruistic donation is when you offer to donate an organ for the benefit of a stranger. This is at present anonymous in the UK but in other countries you can 'choose' who you donate to.

I would like to explain my situation and how this might be the only option open to me.

I have been on dialysis for 15 years and as it stands I am unlikely to receive a donation from the current donor scheme. This is more due to my own body rejecting organs than the lack of them, although there is still a severe lack of donors in the UK.

I was approached by a surgeon several years ago about the posibility of a family member donating an organ but this didn't appeal to me as 1, I was nieve and thought after my first transplant I wouldn't wait that long and 2, there should be enough organs that living people didn't need to donate. How wrong I was!

For about 9 years I resisted asking for a living donor until a surgeon, Mr Kingsmore spoke to me about how it was a noble effort not taking a living donor but there would be a time where I could be called for a transplant but my body wouldn't be able to survive the operation. I was relatively young so thought this was just scare tactics, I would be fit enough, but after a few scans on my heart I realised that he may have a point.

This is where my brother stepped in. He offered to donate a kidney, to do whatever it took for me to no longer have to attend dialysis 3 times a week and live a relatively normal life.

He has subjected himself to a bettery of tests but found that I couldn't accept a direct donation from him. this was probably harder on him than me as I had sort of come to terms that I would be on dialysis the rest of my life.

We were then faced with alternatives such as desensitisation. this involved me travelling to Coventry for tests which, if successful would allow my body to be 'cleansed' of antibodies and therefore allow the kidney to be transplanted. Unfortunately this wasn't possible as my antibodies were simply too high.

The next option, and possibly the last option is the paired donor scheme. This is where people in a similar position to myself can 'swap' donors. If we could find a couple in a similar position, their donor couldn't donate to them, we could swap donors if they were a match. Personally I think this is harder as it isn't just about finding me a donor but also making sure that my brother could donate to the other dialysis patient.

This leds me to why I am writing this blog. I watched a programme called My Kidney and Me where Tom Cledwyn decided to become an altruistic donor. He faced the questions that anyone would ask. Why?

His attitude was that he only needed one kidney to live and if he could help someone else then why not. It is a massive decision and not one to be taken lightly, there are numerous tests and psychological tests to be carried out first, but one that would change his life and the person receiving the organ forever.

Through this programme I found Tom on twitter and had to congratulate him on a totally selfless act. I have now spoken to several people, either waiting on a kidney or have donated, including Natalia Aggiano (recent Pride of Britain winner). They have shown that there are more people like Tom out there and that over 120 people have made this choice in the UK alone.

For years I have admitted that it's unlikely for me to receive a donation due to my antibodies but Natalia and Tom have made me believe that there may be a chance for me to lead a normal life again. Whether that is through an altruistic donation or a change to the law then it could happen.

I am now in a position that rather than accept defeat, that this is my life and I have to just get on with it, I am speaking to other family members about it. It will always be their choice and one that I would accept if they were against it but it still gives me a glimmer of hope for the future.

There are sites which can probably explain this better than I can, such as http://www.giveakidney.org/, which explains how 300 people die each year while on dialysis and waiting for a kidney.

All I can do is try and raise some awareness about donation and it doesn't have to be a card in your pocket for someone to find when you die, it can be a decision you make just now!