re: Kidney Transplants, Anyone?

I was gong to go on the list and then they denied me because of insuance. The fricked up thing was. Last year i had already maxed oit my out ofv pocket copay. Had the transplant clinic not dragged arse i would have had it done.
I have donors lined up.

I made 7 years post kidney transplant (deceased donor) last week and am going strong with no issues. I have a very healthy/active lifestyle, now a certified Pilates teacher. 2.5 years dialysis prior. If I can answer any questions for you give me a shout @ mceuph75@gmail.com

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Dr Craine? The chief nephrologist for Tulane? That's my doctor. But he retires soon. I like my nurse and my techs but hate my social worker. Plus she dropped the ball when i went to an out of state clinic. She told me i had to pay OOP so i sent $900 for three sessions. Then i get there and they said my insurance covered it. I still haven't gotten reimbursed.

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I find that I like my social worker but the transplant organizer I have is a bit of a short-tempered bitch. Any time I've called (rare, but like once every couple months) she talks over me and rushes me on calls. I decided the best way to avoid that was call on her lunch time or connect to someone else.

Keep searching for a donor, and don't just hope you get one on the waitlist.

I'm sure you are aware of the 3 way match program for donors, right? If you find someone who wants to donate but isn't the right blood type, they can do a match with a 3rd party who's in the same situation and you'll get your kidney much faster. Talk to your doc about doing this.

Good luck! Praying for you!

You will need a donor that qualifies (is healthy) but you absolutely need to do this.

Just had one in December

It has been. I work for Union Pacific RailRoad. Missed a lot of work. White Blood count was low for about a month. Experienced a little swelling in the ankles.

An update on things with my pursuit of the transplant:

I'll be heading towards dialysis in the near future. I met with my transplant surgeon who does the pre-dialysis procedure and had everything explained, I just need to follow up and book that appointment.

It's not the outcome I wanted, but it's the one I'm getting. Just as my pursuit for the kidney is picking up some momentum locally and beyond. Got a phone interview with a local newspaper that turned into an article published locally and online, got in contact with a local news channel. A law was recently passed here in RI that would be good news to potential donors and how time off work would be handled.

I have a cousin who isn't a matching blood type who would still be willing to volunteer as the swap would take place - she becomes someone else's donor and that non-match to someone else would become my donor. I don't know if that accelerates the process of becoming transplant-ready or not, but there's more calls to make this week too.

Some day I hope to come back to this thread with an update about a transplant. Healthwise things are steady. I'll be scheduling pre-dialysis surgery tomorrow (after putting it off with a variety of events happening). Aiming for end of August.

This past couple weeks has been pretty loaded up with positive activity. I had a phone interview for an article that was published locally. More on that coming... I had an opportunity to have a TV interview that occurred yesterday and will air early next week supposedly. Normally I hate talking about myself, but found it especially comfortable speaking about my situation, a new law recently passed, and some other things. I wouldn't miss an opportunity to try and appeal to strangers who know somebody going through the same thing who may need help. I think I'm just too tired physically to feel affected by nerves.

I've rediscovered enjoyment in collecting sports cards in the past several weeks, visiting the same shop a third time today. I'd previously talked ot the owner a little about my condition and how I had excess time available and decided to get collecting again. Today, he and his wife were working and she recognized me from the newspaper article from last week. They're interested to have me reach out to them with my flyer so they can share it with their friends, family, people at their church. It's taken almost a year of promotion but seeing how it's become a community effort.