Mar 29: 9:00am - Show up at the hospital. They will do a final pre-transplant check-up and final cross-match. Every time I hear that, I think of, "Flight attendants prepare doors and cross-check."
Mar 29: 11:00am - Meeting with the doctor -- not sure if this is the surgeon or pre-transplant check-up.
April 1: 5:30am - Admission for surgery. I hope this is an indication that my surgery will be early -- like the first one -- I am a morning person (I hope the surgeon is too!)
Two weeks from today, the transplant will be done and we will be working on recovery!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
T - 15
17 March 2009 Happy St Patrick's Day. No new news from Kate or my (we each have our own) transplant team.
Two of my daughters (Theresa and Patricia) have offered to drive to NY and take us home after the surgery, actually it is about a week after the surgery as I have to stay for a follow up visit before returning to VA.
I was a little concerned that this would be a painful experience with these two, but they have promised there would be no laughing!
Looks like a beautiful day in VA, so it is back on the bike.
Two of my daughters (Theresa and Patricia) have offered to drive to NY and take us home after the surgery, actually it is about a week after the surgery as I have to stay for a follow up visit before returning to VA.
I was a little concerned that this would be a painful experience with these two, but they have promised there would be no laughing!
Looks like a beautiful day in VA, so it is back on the bike.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Kate's Health
15 March 2010: Just received a note from Kate. Her fatigue has magnified and she has been getting nauseous. Her doctor said that she has "hit the wall". Not sure if we can move things up, but it sounds like a good idea to me.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Donation Risk Information from CNN
The following article was posted by CNN:
http://tinyurl.com/KidneyDonorRisk
I have copied the article below in case it is removed by CNN.
One startling revelation in the article;
"...risk of death, the most serious surgical complication,”
This ranking would never have occurred to me, but not having gone to medical school, I will have to defer to Dr. Zand.
March 9, 2010
Study: Donating a kidney doesn’t boost risk of premature death
-AET
By Caitlin Hagan
CNN Medical Associate Producer
Live kidney donation is a safe, effective procedure that poses little risk for the premature death of the donor, reports a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That’s welcome news to the more than 106,000 people on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant list who are waiting on potential donors as of this writing.
The JAMA study is the first of its kind to review the health of live kidney donors over an extended period of time. Researchers looked through more than 80,000 records of people who had donated a kidney between 1994 and 2001. They found that for every 10,000 donors, there were only 3.1 deaths within 90 days of the transplant. Being over age 50 or obese at the time of the transplant did not increase a donors risk of dying prematurely.
“Kidney donation surgery is an extraordinarily safe operation in terms of...risk of death, the most serious surgical complication,” explains Dr. Martin Zand, medical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Zand says that recipients worrying about potential kidney donors’ health has become major point of concern during the transplant process, even though the number of live kidney transplants performed annually has nearly doubled over the past 15 years. Today nearly 6,000 live kidney transplants happen every year.
“By donating a kidney, they’re concerned their donor will put themselves at risk for everything from minor surgery to development of kidney disease to death,” says Zand. ‘These donors are family members or partners but also people that come forward from the community.”
The hope within the transplant community is that this information will ease some of the concerns expressed by both potential donors and their recipients, particularly because no other research has followed so many live kidney donors for so long.
Generally donors must complete an education process that outlines the risks associated with transplants, before they can donate a kidney. The goal is to make sure each donor is as informed as possible about the surgery they’ve elected to have.
‘There’s an enormous value to this, in terms of public health, in terms of medical practice, - says Zand.
Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day, not all are posted. Our hope is That much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of The blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on Those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.
Posted by: Caitlin Hagan - CNN Medical Associate Producer
Filed under Health
http://tinyurl.com/KidneyDonorRisk
I have copied the article below in case it is removed by CNN.
One startling revelation in the article;
"...risk of death, the most serious surgical complication,”
This ranking would never have occurred to me, but not having gone to medical school, I will have to defer to Dr. Zand.
March 9, 2010
Study: Donating a kidney doesn’t boost risk of premature death
-AET
By Caitlin Hagan
CNN Medical Associate Producer
Live kidney donation is a safe, effective procedure that poses little risk for the premature death of the donor, reports a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That’s welcome news to the more than 106,000 people on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant list who are waiting on potential donors as of this writing.
The JAMA study is the first of its kind to review the health of live kidney donors over an extended period of time. Researchers looked through more than 80,000 records of people who had donated a kidney between 1994 and 2001. They found that for every 10,000 donors, there were only 3.1 deaths within 90 days of the transplant. Being over age 50 or obese at the time of the transplant did not increase a donors risk of dying prematurely.
“Kidney donation surgery is an extraordinarily safe operation in terms of...risk of death, the most serious surgical complication,” explains Dr. Martin Zand, medical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Zand says that recipients worrying about potential kidney donors’ health has become major point of concern during the transplant process, even though the number of live kidney transplants performed annually has nearly doubled over the past 15 years. Today nearly 6,000 live kidney transplants happen every year.
“By donating a kidney, they’re concerned their donor will put themselves at risk for everything from minor surgery to development of kidney disease to death,” says Zand. ‘These donors are family members or partners but also people that come forward from the community.”
The hope within the transplant community is that this information will ease some of the concerns expressed by both potential donors and their recipients, particularly because no other research has followed so many live kidney donors for so long.
Generally donors must complete an education process that outlines the risks associated with transplants, before they can donate a kidney. The goal is to make sure each donor is as informed as possible about the surgery they’ve elected to have.
‘There’s an enormous value to this, in terms of public health, in terms of medical practice, - says Zand.
Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day, not all are posted. Our hope is That much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of The blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on Those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.
Posted by: Caitlin Hagan - CNN Medical Associate Producer
Filed under Health
Monday, March 8, 2010
23 Days to Go
Not too much is happening at this point. Got some loose fitting drawstring pants on the advice of my new donor friends, Jill and Emily. Expect to get a letter with more details from the donor coordinator at Presbyterian, but not sure how soon that will happen.
Stepping up my weight lifting and aerobic workouts, and biking whenever the weather is good (got in 42 miles so far this week).
Stepping up my weight lifting and aerobic workouts, and biking whenever the weather is good (got in 42 miles so far this week).
Monday, March 1, 2010
We have a Transplant Date
The date is: 1 April 2010 (It is April's Fools Day -- but this is for real!)
Medically cleared to move forward!
1 March 2010: Received the following message from my transplant coordinator:
"I received the electrocardiogram report and all is within normal limits.
You are medically cleared to move forward. Your sister's coordinator is working on a date with her and as soon as I have information I will be in touch."
"I received the electrocardiogram report and all is within normal limits.
You are medically cleared to move forward. Your sister's coordinator is working on a date with her and as soon as I have information I will be in touch."
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