So much to be Thankful for:
It is humbling to recognize the gift of life Mr. Clark has been given.
It is not without extreme appreciation for the Donor that made the decision to save so many lives in their own death. We are so THANKFUL. I can't imagine what suffering their family is going through. I know it must give them such comfort to know that part of their loved one lives on and gives so many people a quality of life.
What a beautiful gift we've been given.
It started with a phone call on Oct. 29 around 12:37 am. We had just finished with Dialysis. And was getting ready for bed. The nurse stated that it would be a few hours so to get some rest and she would call back. Clark and I both got up and got ready for work. By 10:30 when we had no word we were just not even thinking it would go through. At 11:00am we got word that we should get on the road for Kansas City. They weren't sure if the pancreas was good yet so not to get our hopes up. .
It took us 2 hours and 30 minutes to arrive. Every detail seem to be right in place. Although neither one of us felt 'this was the one'. In fact when we arrived at admitting, they said "get comfortable it will be a while we don't have a bed for you."
While sitting in the admitting room a family came in. Their 34 yr old son was also waiting for a kidney transplant. We over heard them saying that they would get a kidney if the donors pancreas wasn't good. Then we continued to listen to their son's story. Our hearts went out to them . This man had had high blood pressure which killed his kidney at age 20. He had been doing dialysis for a long time and had been on the list for a kidney the same amount of time we had. As we waited we became acquainted with them all. We were in the waiting room 7 hours when their son's name was called to get a room. We both had mixed emotions. They came after us, so we pretty much felt that this wasn't our kidney. He was so deserving of it and we had a peaceful feeling. We wished them well . Clark fell asleep, I had to keep going out of the waiting room to get phone service and let everyone know that we knew nothing. While waiting I was able to see a helicopter medic bringing in coolers. I gasped, "THERE ARE THE ORGANS" I thought. I felt total reverence and awe. I can't describe it. After 9 hours waiting the said, "well we are just going to admit you and wait for a bed, we know nothing." We had been admitted before and sent home, so not to worry. Then a bed came available. We were admitted to I.C.U, The nurse said, "the surgeon will be in to talk to you". We still were skeptical!! Then within 30 minutes the Surgeon came in and said, we are still preparing the organs, surgery will be at 7:00am" WE WERE SO SURPRISED!!!!!!!
Surgery proceeded. In the surgery waiting room they have a representative notify everyone when surgery is complete or arrange for people to talk with the doctors. So while the 7 hour surgery proceeded. The whole group kinda got familiar with each other. There was a man waiting for his wife. He was the life of the party. He had a apple that he was eating. The representative was teasing him about not sharing it. It became our entertainment for the next few hours. This man's brother comes in and he starts talking about the apple being like the story of Adam and Eve. And they joke a little bit. And then he chimes in that his brother is a singer at their local church. And we all talk about it. Some one says he should sing for us. So he stands up and in a beautiful, beautiful voice. Quiet and reverent sings, "Amazing Grace" and there are tears. The room is silenced. The brother then asks everyone what religion they are. He never got around to me. I wanted to shout, 'I'm MORMON, LETS PRAY!!! No matter the religion we are all Children of our Heavenly Father. Yet, The majority was Baptist and he asks if he can say a prayer. And everyone agrees. So he says a beautiful prayer asking God to be with the surgeons and with all those that are receiving surgery. and with the loved ones waiting. It was touching. This was my waiting room experience. It really helped the anxiety of the day. I felt at peace.
So the surgery was long, one of the nurses came out and explained the details to me. All was well.
He was sent to his room to recover. He was hooked to a catheter so while he was sleeping I see this liquid coming out of the tubes. I seriously jumped up and almost hollered. That's URINE!!!!!!!!!!!
YES, IMMEDIATELY his new kidney was working. And IMMEDIATELY his sugars were PERFECT! It wasn't suppose to happen immediately so I CRIED TEARS OF JOY!!!!
His recovery in the hospital was perfect. His color was great. He wasn't really in pain, of course he had a button for pain. But he was running the halls almost immediately. It has just been a pure miracle.
Elyse, our daughter flew in the next day. We rotated shifts at the hospital as well as when we were released to stay in a hotel next to the hospital. She saved me. I was able to get rest. She was just GODSEND! She was able to spend some special time with us.
Since being home, it has been full of ups and downs. The surprising thing to us about transplant is that he has had to increase his SALT to keep his blood pressure up. He drinks non stop to keep everything hydrated and working.
On day two at home, the dialysis team came and got the machine and supplies. Pretty exciting time to say goodbye to that chapter in our lives. Although it has been emotional to say goodbye to our team. Especially nurse Barb. Who is the reason Mr. Clark is still alive. She will be our forever friend. Such an incredible special person. We were so, so blessed to have her. Clark made the decision to name the kidney after nurse Barb in her honor and memory.
We have named the pancreas too. It is Jimmy, after one of Clark's Co-workers, dear friends that had a massive heart attack and died just a week before. We are pretty sure he was right beside us all. He was that way. He touched our lives in a way that will never be forgotten.
This THANKSGIVING is like no other. WE ARE SO THANKFUL AND BLESSED. We are beyond humble and grateful to God for seeing us through this miracle. We have a new lease on LIFE and we feel so fortunate and blessed. We have both cried for so many of our close friends who have lost their lives to kidney disease and diabetes. So we feel really indebted to a Loving Heavenly Father for granted us a few extra years. We pray that so many others can have this experience. Being a donor changes lives. With the technology coming forth may we all see more miracles to those we love.
HERE'S TO MANY, MANY QUALITY YEARS WITH OUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, FAMILY AND RELATIVES AND FRIENDS! WE ARE SOOOOOoooooooooooooooo THANKFUL!!
1 month ago
