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
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