Today I am Thanking God for giving Me the gift To GIVE....................

Today I really felt a warm and fuzzy feeling inside me.  I shared my story with some co-workers today and after telling Jeff and Tracy about how this all came about............I got a big Chill and tingling feeling.........I know that God really exist and has a plan for each and everyone of us.  So when I had the Big need  inside of me to donate a Kidney so strong it was all I could think of  and  right then, My feeling was a reality and That's when God put Leo in my path and the rest was an exciting History .........From that moment I knew Juliana and I were in Gods Hands and He was in Control ..........At that time I had NO fear I had only Excitement...........But  at one point after a lot of the testing I had a scared feeling and started thinking about how was my body going to change on Everyday functions (you know like Peeing........LOL)that's the kind of things I think about...LOL...after my  Bladder prolapse surgery........LOL...Anyways what happened next was just short of a Miracle for Me............I was at work telling my Co-worker and Friend John about feeling scared and He agreed I should really make sure I am ready for this..............Well I had to leave work early as I had an appointment to get my TB test checked and Louisa(the RN at the Transplant Institute) told me to call her when I got to the Transplant Institute because they were Closed........So after taking a moment in my Car as I did before every Test to say a little prayer and ask God to Make me Good enough to pass this test For Juliana..........Please Dear Lord I pray that all these Tests will be good and Your Will be Done.......Amen........And I added a little prayer to take away the doubt and fear I was feeling..........Then I called Louisa, she was going to come out and Check the spot of my TB test and I would be on my Way.............But once again God Had a different plan that day.......Louisa asked if I would come in and join a Testimonial of Donors and Recipients.........WOW, I heard a Young husband speak of His donation to his Wife........and He answered all my Questions of fear without me even Asking the Question .......Is that Amazing!!!!!........A friend gave to a friend and she spoke.... A sister gave to her sister and she spoke ..........And Than I had this EXCITING FEELING COME OVER ME AND I HAD TO SHARE MINE AND JULIANA'S STORY..............I spoke of Hector and his untimely death and how I had only met Juliana once to get our blood matched and How her father came into the store on the most Perfect day That it ALL began...............Louisa gave me a Hug and than I gave Her a big Hug back and Started to Cry when I told her How God just put me here with you and the fear I had felt the night before and earlier was Gone............She said It is for sure Gods Plan and I have Had NO FEAR since At ALL........I am so Happy that I am Blessed to Be able to Give My Kidney to a Wonderful Beautiful Girl With Lots of Goals for her Long and exciting  LIFE....Because I Know God has a even Bigger Plan for Juliana's LIFE...and I am so Happy I am apart of it ALL........PRAISE GOD and All THE GOOD he does!!!!..............♥♥♥♥♥♥

Kidney Donor Testing................The best Physical EVER......

So The first test I had was blood work to get Mine and Juliana's blood crossed Match............Lots of vials of Blood........Than when it came back Match I had to do like 10 vials of blood ( for sugar, thyroid. liver function, and so on) than over to Nuclear Medicine to be shot up with some really strong smelly stuff...LOL....like embalming fluid lol just Kidding.......Than in a special chair to sit  perfectly still for 45 min to check my Kidneys.......the BEING still was the hardest for this hyper girl........LOL.......Next Test The most thorough Pap test I have EVER had......no cancer Anywhere yaaaaaaa.......Next CT scan again shot up with some weird stuff and put into a machine and feels real warm through my Whole body ..........almost like your peeing........LOL the tech told me some people freak out but You know me I like it.........Heeheeeheee........Than Cardio stress test OMG.......I ran 8 min on a treadmill Piece of Cake, I thought than it elevates and faster than FAster Than FASTER AND FFFFAAAASSSSTTTTEEERRRRRR......they pretty much throw you on the bed and ask you to Hold Your breath WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME........LOL LOL LOL ......But I passed with flying colors...Thank YOU Jesus............I had a Mammogram than Colonoscopy .....that was not as hard as i thought the stuff you drink was the hardest.......and ALL my moles over my whole Body checked..........and more blood......All Over about 3 months....And I would do it all over again...........♥patty

My Kidney Adventure Continues

Today my husband Mario and   I were watching a program on T.V. It was the Terry Fox's Story and his Marathon of Hope as he ran Across Canada in 1980.  He was an amputee and had battled Cancer.  He was an inspiration to those fighting Cancer and wanted to raise money for cancer research.  Some called him A HERO and in one of his speeches as he was running cross Country He Said..... I am not the Hero the heroes are the one on Chemo and fight to Live..........WoW.......I have been uncomfortable when people look at me as something Special and Now I know what to say.............It's not me that is special it is Juliana and all those on Dialysis......Those are the Hero's Everyone fighting to stay Alive and going through all the hours and Indore all the pain to Stay Alive.........Juliana said to me one day when I asked her about her sickness.........she said "I don't think of it as being Sick" it's just a bump in the road for her..........She is the Hero in my life and Juliana is doing More for me Than I am for her ......So please don't give me The Credit give it To Juliana and All those that FIGHT TO STAY ALIVE.........:)))

My Adventure being a Kidney Donor...........

Today We have a Surgery date......Oct 18th 2010........I am blessed to be able to  give my Kidney to Juliana.  And this is how it all began........Oct. 2007 I had an Appointment. at Cedars Sinai Hospital to be Tested as a Kidney Donor for my Brother -in -Law Hector.   He had been on the transplant list already so long due to no family donors because of the chance of kidney disease, Diabetes and High blood pressure in the family.  The night before going to Cedar Sinai I had pelvic prolapse and needed Surgery.  I was told it would take a year to heal enough to be considered.  So again the search for a donor for Hector.  His health was not good.  He had had a small heart attack and dialysis was getting so hard for him trying to be a Good elementary Teacher that he was and fighting to keep his Job. The Principal and School Board really Put Hector under a lot of stress and wanted him to quit due to his illness but he loved Teaching soooo much.  At the end of 2008 Hector's daughter Anna, after giving birth to her little girl Madison,Was a MATCH for her Dad.  Things were looking up.  Anna got Married May 2009 and when returning from her Honeymoon she and Hector would go in to do the transplant.  But God had other plans for Hector's very tired  body and two days after Anna's wedding and the celebration (we see now as) Of Hector's Life.......he had a Heart Attack and Passed.  :''((........I began researching Kidney transplants and how many people are on the list for like 11 years or long before getting a Kidney.  I really felt like I needed to donate my Kidney in honor of Hector and Save a LIFE......After talking with my husband Mario and getting his blessing and understanding of why I needed to do this..... I wamted to find out how to go about it????.....It just so happened that I work at Albertsons Grocery Chain in the Meat Dept and I had a Customer who I really never knew his name, but he came in every Sunday and on this one Sunday around February or March 2010 I saw a sadness in him..........So I asked his name and he said "Leo".......I came around the counter and asked him if everything was all right and he told me His Daughter was home from College due to Illness and not sure what was wrong.  I told him I would keep her in my prayers and what is her name...."Juliana" he said.  A few Sundays go by and Leo comes in and I asked How's Juliana and He said she is having Kidney problems and is going to go through some extensive testing to get her on a Kidney List!!!!! O' MY GODNESS........."I am your Girl"!! "What" Leo said Looking at me as if I was Kooky (yes but any ways) I told him that I had been  planning on donating a Kidney and He said he really appreciated that but Family and friends would be tested and said he was Amazed I would even Consider such a thing.  So I told him the story of Hector.........."WOW" he said..........So  more Sundays go by and Leo came in with a packet in Hand and proceeded to give it to me But  made me promise to talk to my Family first.  Others had been afraid or had health issues And her Brothers was still young and was advised to have Children first.........So here I am and it was Easter Sunday I gathered my Children and Husband and we went through the packet I did more research ........found this wonderful web site Kidney Chronicles ......Told my family that whether you have  1 or 2 kidneys if you get sick with kidney disease it will usually affect both....My one Kidney will get bigger and become a SUPER Kidney.......and I Felt really good about this ............So with my family's Blessing I called Juliana and she gave me the Number to Call at Loma Linda University Hospital and made an Appointment to get our Blood cross matched...........A couple days later YEAH...We are a match!!!!.........So through the next 4  months May June July August I get poked probed and the BEST physical anyone could ever have.  My cholesterol was a little high, had a little over average sugar in my blood and So I seen a dietician Teresa and went on  a diet with turkey and chicken and fish NO RED MEAT and Lots of fruits and veggies.........Water Water Water......Oh My the water was amazing , I had no more pain in my knee's and my cholesterol drop and I lost 15 lbs and Sugar levels great.......yeah.  I told Juliana she was Saving my life ......all my changes will make me healthier and I will live a Long long healthy Life.......I have seen Allison the Social Worker, Dr. Zack my Advocate, Dr Baldwin my Surgeon and next My anesthesiologist on Oct 12th.  Whats really funny is how All the Social workers and Avocates try to talk you out of it, but I think they want to make sure you are really Doing it for the right reason.....I will keep posting as It all comes about , I want to help someone in need of a Kidney To Know get the word out. Don't be afraid to tell people you need a donor.  And the one you tell might Have it in them to Give.  And to anyone who feels the Love and need to Give and may consider being a LIVING DONOR ...I am going to give you all the Details of how I feel after my surgery and I will go into more detail with each blog of my testing I went through..........So until next blog..... God Bless Patty