Monthly Archives: February 2012

One Week: “The Lottery of Life”

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She Won the Lottery…

I have the honor of working with a very special woman, Ella.  She was the recipient of a kidney, given in the most heartbreaking but generous gift of a teenage girl’s parents. They turned their tragedy into a gift of a normal life for a stranger.  Here are Ella’s words: “15 years and 7 months ago I got the call.  I can remember my husband’s words today, he said, “I thought you had won the lottery.” I did, the lottery of life and that’s so much better than millions of dollars…It has been almost 16 years and I still think of my donor and her family unselfish act.”

If you haven’t already, sign the back of your driver’s license today! I just had to share her story and quote, so moving and impactful. Thank you, Ella.

Recovery Update:

Wow! It’s officially been a week since the surgery and there have been both good and bad days.  And good mornings and bad afternoons.  But I think that is normal with all recoveries from surgery.  I made the mistake of doing too much the first few days home and now I’m listening to some wise advice: Rest more in hopes of a faster recovery. 

My mom, dad, husband and friends have been incredible and I’m the luckiest donor to have them in my life.  They have catered to my every need by making me comfortable, making meals, and taking care of the kids.  All I do is sit back and reap the benefits of good food and watching my kids play. Life is so hectic and busy, I honestly can’t think of the last time I’ve stopped and just enjoyed them (without worring about cooking dinner, homework, baths, bedtime, etc.). Ironically, this has given me that opportunity.

Am I still in pain? Yes. Am I frustrated? Yes. Is it still worth it? Yes! Larry is keeping me posted and he is doing amazing. He is fascinated by how much energy he has compared to before.  As my Aunt Shirley put it, “He hasn’t felt normal in so long, he forgot what it felt like.”  She summed it up in just one sentence, he just wants to be normal again.  Have a normal life.

Here’s to being normal again! Take care, Jeni Lind

Four Days Post Surgery

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Last day

Picture of Larry and I before heading home

It’s Monday and surgery was last Thursday.  It all went smoothly, Larry and I both checked in at 5:30am that morning.  At that point, I was past being scared or nervous, just ready. We both got a little emotional as we separated to go into surgery but I went with the feeling of being committed and right with my decision.  After it was all over, my surgeon told my husband, ” The kidney was just beautiful.” That makes me smile.  It went to work immediately for Larry with no hesitation.  Some kidneys take a few hours or days to wake up, but not this one.  I guess my little pep talk to my kidney before worked.

When I woke up, my first question was how Larry was doing.  They said he was grinning ear from ear and actually glowing.  Indeed, I got to see him the next day and he looked healthier than I ‘ve ever seen him.  That alone makes this whole experience worth it and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

There were a few bumps along my recovery starting with when I first woke up.  I’m still not sure if it was intentional but the only pain medication I was given initially was morphine to be administered by me pushing a button every ten minutes.  That made me terrified to sleep, as I afraid to wake up in even more pain.  After me, my mom and husband arguing with some of the nursing staff, they finally called the doctor to order another form of pain medicine that did not rely on me pushing a button.  Finally, almost 10 ten hours post surgery, I was able to fall asleep in peace.  The next day did not get much better as I had practically beg my nurse for pain and nausea medicine which resulted in me getting sick twice before she did something about it.   From the very beginning I was told to expect a lot of pain but was reassured I would be given whatever I needed to take it away. I plan to be blunt with my surgeon when I see him next week for a post-surgery appointment. Maybe he will listen and future donors will receive improved pain treatment. But in no way do I want this to deter anyone from thinking of donating, just be clear abut your expectations and talk to your doctors and nurses about your needs.

Now I promised to be completely honest in this blog.  It was not all bad. Yes, the first two days were horrible but then I got some amazing nurses, Sylvia, Mary and Princess, who truly cared about their patients and got me on the road to recovery. In addition, getting up and walking to Larry’s room allowed me to see how great he was doing.  I was showered with tons of flowers from family, friends and coworkers which helped the room feel more like home.

I’m recovering from home and each day feel a little bit better.  The key is to move around, get plenty of rest and water.  Thanks to the generosity of our friends, meals are being delivered to help out.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you kind souls.

So now I’ll being catching up on my favorite Today show, coffee, comfort food, reading and movies. I’ll keep you posted but it probably won’t be exciting. :)

Signing off with one kidney and doing fabulous! Jeni

Thank you

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Surgery begins in 10 hours.  I’ve had to fast all day, having last ate at 8am this morning. One good thing is my empty stomach has been the focus and not my nerves. I am nervous and scared but ready for this.  Before it all begins I want to take a few moments to say some thank you’s:

To my wonderful husband and best friend, thank you for understanding and supporting this decision.  Through all of this I kept repeating if you changed your mind, I would completely understand and not do this.  But your support has been unwavering and simply, I love you.

Thank you for my wonderful children who make me smile everyday and are my motivation to recover quickly.

Thank you to my mom and dad who are dropping everything to take care of me, Kurt and the kids.  Tomorrow will be especially hard for mom as both her daughter and baby brother will be in surgery. I’m so fortunate to have such awesome parents!

Thank you to our family and friends for not once questioning our decision, showing such generosity and for sending many thoughts and prayers our way.

And last but not least, thank you to my left kidney. You can been good to me over the last 34 years and you need to be even better for Larry.  You are going from one fighter to another and I have high expectations for you.  I expect nothing less from one of my kidneys. :)

I will now sign off the last time with two kidneys – There will be no “goodbyes” so…

See you later and we will post after the surgery! Jeni

Pre-Op Day…

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Today was pre-op day, 10 days before the surgery. I met with the anesthesiologist staff, my surgeon and had a final round of testing to confirm our match and my health as a donor. I’m certified good to go, with great health and very low blood pressure thanks to my running and torturous Jillian Michaels videos. (Sorry, I had to brag, she kicks my butt!) I received more information about before and after the surgery.  For 24 hours before the surgery, I can only take in clear liquids (i.e., jello, broth, water).  My poor husband and kids will be subjected to a pretty cranky me because I need little in life but solid food is certainly on top of the list.  In addition, I will have trouble eating for up to a week after the surgery. So in summary, I will be gorging on Valentine’s Day thanks to some amazing special order cupcakes made by an old friend:)

My surgeon is a very a nice man but I feel even better about his long list of credentials that includes Harvard Medical School.  I won’t lie, I’m very nervous.  He went through a long list of risks, which are very low risks, but they are there nonetheless.  As he put it “We have whittled it down to 1 in (insert number) but we can’t promise zero. We don’t have a crystal ball.” However, I went into this decision knowing and accepting the risks. Every time I turn on my car and leave the driveway, I take a risk. That is what life is about: taking chances.  At then end of our appointment the surgeon said something I begged to argue with: “I’ve listed all the risks and there are no benefits to you as the donor.” I understood where he was coming from – his priority is me – his patient, not the recipient. But I beg to differ. The greatest benefit to me is the wonderful feeling I have right now knowing I’m helping Larry, it just feels right. 

In the last few weeks, we’ve slowly let the word out to our family and friends. Their reaction has been wonderful and the comments have been over the top. Sure I want to tell my family and friends so they know what is going on. But my main goal through all of this is to get the word out about living donations and maybe help someone else make that decision. Did you know there are over 100,000 people on the national transplant list right now, waiting for a kidney? On average, approx. 14,000 kidney transplants are done each year.  Only about 5,000 of those are from living donors and that number is decreasing every year.

So, the waiting game continues. As promised, I will be honest and upfront about this experience. So…am I nervous? Yes! Am I scared? Yes!

Am I excited? Yes!