Intro - Kidney Donor

[SoniaBrummer]

Hi! I'm Sonia and I donated anonymously in 2009 in Minneapolis. I've volunteered on and off with the NKF, including some peer to peer opportunities, since '08. I'd be happy to answer any questions about kidney donation!

[Boomop]

Hi Sonia. I donated in 2015, after donating Drs associated a serious butterfly feeling in chest with my adrenal gland missing its kidney

After about seven months feeling went away....was wondering if you had same feeling

[SoniaBrummer in reply to Boomop]

Hello! No, I don't recall having that feeling. However, I did have some extreme highs and lows in my energy that were impacting my mental health for a while (years). At first I attributed it to a stressful work environment. But after meeting with someone, they thought perhaps it was related to my adrenal gland. I did ask my medical team and they assured me that there was no way it could be the adrenal gland. They were quite confident that my adrenal gland would be working completely as normal without any impact from removing my kidney. Not sure this helps, but it was all kind of strange to me. I personally believe lots of things in our bodies are all connected, so to have someone be really outright about "no way it is related" when the organs are actually right next to each other seems like an unbelievable concept - yet a pretty common conclusion found in western medicine. Did that feeling persist - are you doing better now?

[Boomop in reply to SoniaBrummer]

Yes. Better now

Three months after surgery I needed two stents which also puzzled Drs. They couldn't believe they did surgery with 95% blockage. But. Without the donation would have never discovered. The always hidden Blessing......

[SoniaBrummer in reply to Boomop]

Incredible! Well, I'm SO glad it was discovered in the end and you're doing OK. Very surprising that the blockage didn't come up in all that extensive pre-approval testing stuff.

[todd17yes]

I also live in Minneapolis. My partner is planning on donating a kidney. Do you have tips for caregivers to help with recovery?