My Husband had been on Hemodialysis for 8 years.We received a call from the hospital staff, stating he is booked for pre transplant.
We spoke with the Surgeon, met with the anesthesia doctor, spoke with a social worker that is assigned to us. This was all done in June. 1 month ago ,we were asked to stop taking any blood thinner. So no word of a date.Does anyone have any idea
Did you already complete the testing for transplant? If so, sounds like as soon as a kidney comes up.
Best of luck! 🙏🏻♥️🥰
All the testing have been completed and just waiting for that phone call. Thanks.
I would stay by the phone as I would think as soon as a kidney become viable.
How long has he actually been on the transplant list? I know here you go thru a serious of tests and if all turns out OK, then you are put on the list for a kidney. The wait here is on the average of 5 years.
He has been on the list for almost 5 years.
It appears your hubby is close to receiving a transplant. It's a good sign that he was taken off blood thinners since uncontrolled bleeding during surgery can be an issue. Recommend having an overnight bag packed for you hubby with basic necessities - and perhaps for you, too, if your center isn't nearby.
Thank you for the advice. Center is 1 hour away, and yes bag have been packed .he is now 69 years old and a few more years of life will be a blessing from our superior 🙏
You're a wise lady. I was scrambling around, completely discombobulated, deep at night, wildly throwing things into bags while hubby was disconnecting from PD. Don't forget to include a long phone charger cord. The transplant rooms have equipment plugged into most outlets so you may have to find one across the room. My hubby was blessed at age 71 with his gift. It came so unexpectedly that he was still on blood thinners which caused problems down the road. So it's good that your hubby is off that. Crossing my fingers that your hubby will get that call soon.
I was waitlisted for about 2 years and 10 months. I live in the Midwest USA where waitlist times are shorter. I received a deceased donor kidney which I named after my best friend, Cindy, who encouraged me to go through transplant eligibility testing when I was deliberating after my nephrologist referred me to the transplant center.
My transplant was a pre-emotive transplant; I had been in renal failure for 6 years but had two excellent nephrologists who were able to get just enough rebound with my renal function that I didn’t need dialysis. My eGFR ranged from 13-15 the majority of the time before the transplant.
I was fortunate to get a call on a Monday morning telling me to stay by the phone. I was third on the list for a deceased donor kidney. I assumed one of the two people ahead of me would take it so didn’t get too excited. I received another call that evening saying that one of those ahead of me would not be receiving the kidney. The next morning I received a third call telling me that two kidneys would be transplanted from the deceased donor. I could have one of them. They wanted me to be at the hospital that afternoon. I updated my friend to let her know that I needed to be at the hospital that afternoon. We got there at about 3pm. Then it was a lot of waiting. My friend has children so I ultimately told her to go home to her children saying I’d use Lyft to get back home if needed; although, we knew I was cleared for the transplant by that point. So I told her unless I heard something concerning about the kidney I’d go forward with the transplant. At about 10pm that night they began prepping me for the surgery. The surgeon came to tell me about the kidney and that he would do the transplant for the other recipient first as that recipient was ahead of me on the list. He said as soon as he was done with that transplant he would do mine. I realized that would be at at least 2am. I responded by telling him that if he needed a Power Nap first that would be fine. He laughed as did the others who were prepping me. I remember very little after that. I didn’t wake up until I was in my private room after the surgery. I was experiencing very little pain. I took my cell phone with me and my computer. I took long cords for both. I also took some lotion and lip balm. I’m very glad I had both as I was very dried out. Otherwise, I packed typical stuff.
The surgery couldn’t have gone better. I asked to be taken off pain Med and switched to Tylenol by the end of the first day post op. Since I’ve never married nor had children nor have I had any other surgeries, this was my first surgery. I didn’t know what to expect but would, in retrospect , say that I was fine. They began immediately teaching me about my medications as well as how to care for the JT tubes the day after surgery, a dietician arrived to talk about nutrition and food safety. The full surgical team, which included students since I was at a teaching hospital, did rounds 2x a day. The social worker came twice. The first time she gave me information about how to send a message to the donor’s family, if I chose. She also completed a mental health evaluation. The second time she completed another mental health evaluation and talked with me about my first appointments at the transplant center. Of course they had he walking by the morning if the second day post op.
That’s about it as far as the surgery went.
Post note: Sadly Cindy passed away this passed Saturday morning. She had developed a very aggressive form of dementia which was identified shortly after I was accepted for a transplant. As her husband said in his email, “She has gone home to Heaven. It was her time.”
I was so blessed to meet her my first day on campus as an undergraduate. There I was wearing an Old Order Mennonite bonnet and garb. There she was wearing the height of fashion for the early 1970s. She championed me immediately as male students were making all sorts of negative comments about me. We were roommates who had never met but became lifelong best friends.
I’ve decided to make a donation to the transplant center in her name as a celebration of her life.
I can’t thank her enough for encouraging me to pursue the transplant in spite of the recurrent CMV I’m battling now.
Jayhawker
Wow, what a lovely experience. I am so happy to hear your transplant was a success. And may Cindy Rest in Peace. And I pray you feel better with your new struggles.
I hope it all that you expect and that it all goes well. Let’s know how it goes ❤️
I went through testing and was active as of Oct 2022. I went on to peritoneal dialysis Feb 2023. It failed and I called and made myself inactive as I didn't want to take up space that someone else needed. I ended up in the hospital and am now on hemo. I lost weight in the hospital so I working to regain 10 pounds. Once I do I'll go back to the center and redo the testing.
I'm not having a hard time on hemo but I can't really travel as I'm doing in center and it would be a pain making all the arrangements.
Pre transplant work up tests.
kidney transplant support
