Approved for kidney transplant at Mayo!!!!!

I GOT THE CALL!!!!

This felt like THE LONGEST day.  I don't think I've ever checked my cellphone so many times...checking for missed calls, voicemails or emails....anything!  It wasn't until 4:30pm that my transplant coordinator called and told me the great, amazing, fantastic news.

They spoke at some length about me today, which is good because it indicates thoroughness to me.  They are going to list me inactive on the transplant list.  If you remember, the U listed me inactive too, but in case you don't remember, being inactive means that I won't be getting any calls offering up a cadaver kidney for me, but I will continue to accrue time on the list.

The team is being very purposeful in this decision.  Because of my FSGS, there is a protocol that they want to follow to ensure the best outcome for me.  Before the transplant, I will be given doses of Rituximab, as well as several sessions of plasmapheresis.  The way I understand it, the Rituximab is used to "remove the antibodies" and the plasmapheresis is used to clean my blood.  Hopefully, by doing this, I'll be less likely to reject the donor organ.   If I were to get a cadaver kidney, we wouldn't be able to do this, which is why I'm inactive.

So now what, you ask?

Well, the answer is simple.  I need to find a living donor.  Joacim is still working on lowering his a1c with diet and exercise, which is awesome, but there's still a risk that, for some unknown reason, he won't be able to donate via the paired exchange program, so I need more living donor candidates.  Several more.  A living donor will save me 5-7 years of possible waiting for a cadaver, and even then, it would be dicey.  A living donor gives me the ABSOLUTE BEST chances of a successful transplant.

I know lots of people read this blog, so I'm hoping this will help me in my search.  I feel that I need to at least say something before I go into the whole donation process.  This is hard for me.  Awful, in fact.  It's uncomfortable in a way that I can't describe.  Putting myself out there, asking for a kidney....just makes me feel more vulnerable than I ever have in my life.  I'm relying on someone to come through for me, and that's hard to get my head around.  But I also want to say that I'm not looking at everyone I know and thinking, "Well, why doesn't he/she step up for me?".  It's absolutely not like that.  I know that people have circumstances that may not allow them to step up, even though they want to.  I totally get it.  My mission is to find the best donor for me, and hopefully that person doesn't go into this with one shred of doubt, because that would be a bad situation for everyone.  I am going to do my best to provide the most accurate information out there for people to consider, and then hope that someday soon, I'll get the call that says I have a donor.

This post has already gotten long, so I think I'll do another post on the donation process/criteria.  Just want to say "Thank You" to everyone that has sent me words of encouragement, or just little messages/texts to let me know that they're thinking about me/reading my posts, etc.  It means more than you know....