The Home Stretch.....Let's Do This!

On January 6th we had our final prep and Pre Admission for surgery.  More of the same blood tests, chest xray's, EKG's, Blood Pressure and talks with The Surgeon and Transplant Coordinator who recapped the process for the surgery. I joked with Surgeon Scott about the importance of him  having a good nights sleep and NO PARTYING!. He told me that he didn't have any plans yet, but he'd let me know if that changed. Nancy, the Transplant Coordinator is still amazed at how quick and smooth our process went. She told me several stories on compatibility testing which has continued for over 3 years. Another where she has tested over 60 potential donors and still can not find a match for the patient. With over 100,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant 80% are waiting for a kidney. 16 people die each day waiting. FYI you can also be a Fairy God Donor! Astonishing!

Tomorrow is the big day and I want to say THANK YOU to those who have made this process much easier. Nick Freeman, my best friend and partner, has been by my side at every appointment and listened to every gory detail. Nick held my hand thru the poking and prodding of the blood tests and scans. He listened to the beeps of the 24 blood pressure monitor and calculated the cc's/"sitting" for the 24 hour urine sample! He is consistent! He coordinates and organizes and is a strong force thru this entire process. KISS KISS!

My amazing kids, who ask a lot of questions and have NEVER doubted my decision to donate. They trust their Mom and know if I'm doing it, it must be a pretty cool thing to do! Sometimes when they see me they ask if I've already donated. As if I could walk in, walk out and recover in a few hours. Adorable!

My friends, who in the beginning may not have thought I could/should  donate but have supported my decision. Specifically Rebecca, Melinda, Diane and Danielle. My Facebook Friends whose posts continue to inspire and support me.



The Winning Snowboard!



Kat and Mike who allowed my family to stay at their condo the weekend before surgery as an opportunity to rest, relax and have fun. It exceeded our expectations. We had a BLASTY BLAST! We won so many prizes at Wildcat Mountain's ski contest to include the Vitamin Water Snowboard. How did I win? By playing a hot potato game called "Pass The Chicken!" What a treat! SO MUCH FUN!!!!



Ed, Mariama and The Bobbetts's...WOW! I can't think of a better family to donate to. They have loved and supported us. I know they think we are giving them a gift but the actual gift has been given to me. Giving and receiving are the same.

OK FOLKS! Surgery is scheduled for January 11 (tomorrow). We have to report in at 6:00am with surgery starting at 7:30am at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston Ma. The surgery takes about 3 hours. I should be out of surgery about 11:30am and awake  recovering about 1pm.

Send us your best wishes for a successful surgery and speedy recovery! Cheers!

New Beginings

╔═════════ ೋღ❤ღೋ ═══════════╗
ೋ ❤❤❤~~ HAPPY NEW YEAR ~~❤❤❤ ೋ
╚═════════ ೋღ❤ღೋ ═══════════╝

It's been a busy BUSY month with the Australian Invasion. We've been all over New England basking in the delights of the season. Skiing, snowboarding in the mountains and shopping in NYC.  But in 9 short days we will end the wait for Mariama.

January 11, 2011 at 7:30am Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Mariama and I will make it official. We will become donor and recipient of a kidney transplant. Sisters forever!  On Thursday January 6th we have our pre-admissions tests; which include final crossmatching blood work, physical exams and meetings with the surgeons and the star of the show The Anesthesiologist. (Gotta love the guys with the medication). 

But before then there is some snowboarding that needs to be done. So we'll see you on the slopes!

NOTE: We wrapped up 2010 and rang in the New Year with a Jammie Jam party at Oneta and Jon Bobbett's house. The most fun I've had in a long, long time!!! Jon and Oneta shared with us, the best of everything. They truly are an amazing couple! That ended my alcohol consumption until further notice and my first and last cigar. Thanks Jon!

Meet the Team

Kidney Transplantation is a complex, long-term process. Mariama and I started our journey on September 25th at a birthday party. 2 weeks later I was at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston Ma giving blood. A week after that results were in..COMPATIBLE. Nancy, my donor coordinator has been with me from the start.    

After all the testing and results I was given a greenlight to proceed. I then met with the Psyciatrist James Rodrigue to make sure I wasn't a total nutcase. The funniest question from him was..."what is your ethnicity?" Of course I told him "I'm Irish, can't you see!?"

.

  

Martha Pavlakis, MD

Then came Martha Pavlakis the Kidney specialist. Who wondered if I always made such spontaneous decisions. Doesn't everyone?

Thursday Dec 9th we were back down to meet with Scott Johnson, the Surgeon. I went in for my weigh in and blood pressure check. Both are higher than I'd like. LOL! Nancy the Coodinator came in shortly after. We reviewed the results of the 24 hour blood pressure test. Although my blood pressure was high on this day, the 24 hour test was PERFECT! She left me in the room to wait for Dr. Scott. 45 minutes later and still no surgeon. I walked out to see what was happening and it appeared as if everyone had left for the evening. "Scott has left. Maybe he was called into emergency surgery," Nancy said. Then she remembered there was another



Amy R. Evenson, MD

Dr. available, Amy Evenson, and I met with her briefly. But half way through our meeting, Dr. Scott appeared. He was apologetic for being called into a another meeting. I asked him a few questions about his experience. He has conducted over 1,000 transplant surgeries. That was good enough for me. His biggest fear is with the hot instruments they use, there is a chance of burning something that shouldn't be burned. Or a microscopic accidental incision that could cause bleeding after I'd left the hosptial. OOPPSSS! But all in all he felt that since I had been through surgery before, it would be a breeze! He was a bit confused because he thought we were scheduled to have the surgery NEXT WEEK! But at second glance at my file, it hadn't been scheduled at all.


Mariama and I discussed it and we both agree that after the New Year would be the best time for the surgery. Surgeries are conducted on Tuesday's so January 4th, 11th, 18th or 25th. (I like the number 11). 1/11/2011 has a certain ring to it. So we'll both enjoy our families for the Holiday's and start 2011 in grand style.

 

 











 







A Thankful Giving



Mariama, Thea, Kim


At the heart of Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude for having enough food to eat and to share all the wonderful bounties of life with others.

My family had the pleasure of sharing this Thanksgiving with Mariama. She looked happy and healthy and full of life. The evaluation process is finished ending with a 24 hour blood pressure monitor ending the Wed. before Thanksgiving. It does a reading every 20 minutes during the day and once and hour at night. Although I was hoping to be on my way to recovery by this time, it was awesome to eat a delicious turkey dinner joining families; remembering its not in my time but God's time that all things happen.  I just hope He hurries up.(SMILE~WINK~LOL)

Nick (my life partner) has his 4 children arriving this week from Australia. Anna 21, David 19, Joe 17 & Eliza 14 will be arriving on November 30. They are on their summer holiday from Aussieland and are on their way to the USA.  We are very grateful that they will be joining us. They will be here until February. With my 4 children Victoria 16, Spencer 14, Parker 11& Theo and Nick's 4 children we will have a full house for the Holiday season. We are a true, modern day Brady Bunch.

Miracles are everywhere this Holiday season. The father of my children Phil, is the most wonderful Dad any child could ask for. He has been a true support. We were all together this Thanksgiving. A true healing. He has offered to help Nick and I with what we need while Nick's children are here. The big need is how to transport 10 people around New England. Lucky for us, Phil has a van. I am so grateful for his kindness and support.

God's love is all around. You can see it where ever you go. Constant and Eternal. In every smile. In every wink. In laughter. I'm so grateful for His protection, always keeping me safe in His care. His love has kept me healthy and with this love I am able to give the gift of hope, health and happiness to another. I'm just so grateful.





Donate Life

No Kidding About the Kidney~

Black, Hispanic Kidney Donors More Likely to Develop Chronic Kidney Disease: http://www.renalbusiness.com/



CT Scan 11/12/10 confirm Thea has 2 kidneys



BOSTON—Black and Hispanic kidney donors are significantly more likely than white donors to develop hypertension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, according to new Saint Louis University research published in the Aug.  19 issue of the New
England Journal of Medicine.

“We’ve long known that diabetes and hypertension disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics. Our research found that these racial disparities also exist among living kidney donors, post donation,” said Krista Lentine, MD, associate professor of internal medicine and lead researcher at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. “Increased attention to health outcomes among demographically diverse kidney donors is needed.”

Researchers say that while these findings should not be used to discourage anyone from donating on the basis of race and ethnicity alone, these factors should be taken into consideration when counseling potential donors about their future health risks.

Given the significant organ shortage, many patients with end-stage renal disease rely on living donor kidney transplantation. According to Lentine, in 2006, approximately 27,000 live donor kidney transplants were reported worldwide, and live donors supplied nearly 40 percent of kidney transplants in the United States.
The need for live kidney donors is greatest among blacks, who are significantly more likely to develop end-stage renal disease, yet have less access to kidney transplants. Researchers say that blacks are less likely to identify a potential donor and their potential donors are more likely to have health conditions at evaluation that limit their ability to donate.

Researchers used insurance claims from a private insurance provider, linked with identifiers from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, to examine variations in the risk of post-donation medical diagnoses according to race.

All potential kidney donors undergo an evaluation that focuses on excluding patients with medical abnormalities at the time of assessment. After kidney donation, researchers found that in comparison to white donors, black donors were 52 percent more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension Hispanic donors also were 36 percent more likely than white donors to be diagnosed with hypertension. Additionally, black and Hispanic donors were more than two times as likely as white donors to be diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and to have drug-treated diabetes. Relative patterns were similar to those in the general population.
While normal pre-donation medical evaluation increases the overall likelihood of long-term good health for donors, Lentine said these screenings alone cannot be expected to eliminate the impact of epidemiologic risk factors for disease over time, such as aging and race.

“We are not proposing any change to donor selection policy based on these data,” Lentine said. “However, these findings show that we need a national policy for longer donor follow up, as opposed to the current two-year mandated tracking, so that we can capture and monitor the outcomes of donors from all sociodemographic groups.”

According to Lentine, more studies are needed to understand the consequences of post-donation diabetes and hypertension on the overall health of the donors. In the general population, hypertension and diabetes are typically associated with increased risk of end-organ complications. However, because kidney donors often receive closer surveillance and early intervention, the implications may be milder in this group.
Even if the risk of serious end-organ damage is small with good care, better understanding of the risk for hypertension and diabetes is relevant to counseling donors on possible financial risks from future prescriptions, medical treatment and associated insurance premiums.

“All donors should be committed to long-term medical follow up so that any health conditions that arise over time can be recognized and treated,” Lentine said.

❤Why Am I Doing This?❤

I am often asked why I chose to be a donor. Actually, it's not how I look at it. It didn't feel like a choice and certainly not a hard one. Before I offered my kidney to Mariama I felt peacefully guided by an inner knowing. You may call it Intuition, The Inner voice,  Divine Energy or God's Love. It was simply an inspired opportunity to give. This choice was given TO me, not made by me. I didn't do anything. I was being done. All I had to do was 'not do.' Not resist the urge to give. Freely, peacefully and lovingly. 

The only hard part of this process was the resistence I received from some friends whose own fears asked me to question my guidence.  Almost, without question, these friends doubted the decision. Many of their fears about their own lives came to the surface. "What if this..." and " What if that...?" "What about this..." and "What about that...?" "WHAT ABOUT YOUR KIDS?!?"  "There is no benefit to you, Thea. You're actually losing in this deal!!"  Thankfully the continued peace and reassurance I feel and the strength of my trust in Him, has become an unshakeable force for me and an inspiration for most of these skeptics. And now we all can be the witness for the trust for and love of God.

With God all things are possible and if I'm given the opportunity be a conduit of peace, love and joy through becoming a donor, I'm going to take it. That's all the reason I need.❤