A Christmas Miracle

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Christmas miracle, family, Gift of Life, kidney disease, kidney transplant, miracle, organ donation, pkd, transplant

Mid-November, I was ready for Christmas movies and Christmas music. I got the Christmas tree up with lights on it. Throughout the remainder of November and December, Hubster & I received a plethora of bad news.

I didn’t finish my Christmas cookies. I didn’t mail out Christmas cards, let alone order them. Our Christmas tree didn’t even have ornaments on it. Most of the Christmas shopping wasn’t done. My classroom was better decorated for the holidays than our home. I even quit after shoveling 1/2 the driveway free from 9″ of snow. I didn’t even take any pictures!!! For the first time in my life, I had unintentionally become a Scrooge/Grinch.

Sunday night, before Christmas, my mom got a phone call from her kidney transplant coordinator. We were hoping this was the miracle for which we’ve prayed for five years. As Hubster and I packed our bags the next morning, another phone call came. After inspecting the kidney, the surgeon rejected the kidney. Even though you try not to get your hopes up when you get a call like this, it is always a disappointment. Especially before Christmas…

On Christmas Eve, Hubster and I received more bad news and all feelings of Christmas joy had almost completely vanished.

The same day, Gift of Life Donor Program posted this Trivia Tuesday question on their FB page: Today, on Christmas Eve, how many Pennsylvanians are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant?
A. 7,854    B. 6,764    C. 5,376    D. 6,198
The correct answer?  B: 6,764

Keep reading… it gets better!

Christmas morning didn’t feel like Christmas. As we were getting ready to head to my eldest sister’s house, my parents’ telephone rang. It was the kidney transplant coordinator again. There was another kidney match. Tears immediately poured down my mother and my faces as we were filled with mixed emotions. This! Is! It! I felt like this was the Christmas miracle for which we’ve waited. I was thrilled. I was scared that it might not go through. I was also heartbroken for the family that lost a loved one on Christmas morning. We said many prayers for him and his family.

The rest of the day we were all on edge while we waited for more information from the transplant coordinator. It was almost bedtime and fearing only bad news, we decided to try to get some sleep and see what the night would bring. No sooner than I rested my head down, I heard my parents’ phone ring. I sprung out of bed. Listening for long enough to know we were headed to the hospital. They were giving her BOTH kidneys! That almost never happens! Before my dad was off the phone with the coordinator, Momma was out of the house and already had the car running.

Our family spent Christmas night and Boxing Day in the hospital waiting room on edge. Happiness.     Nervousness.     Joy.     Stress.     Relief.   Now my mom is at the hospital, focusing on healing.

Thank you to the Gift of Life Donor Program.   Thank you to the donor and his incredibly thoughtful gift he has given our family.   Thank you to the donor’s family for this gift which you may never truly know the magnitude.   Thank you to the amazing surgeon for sharing his gifted hands and spending Christmas Day & Boxing Day flying to harvest the kidneys and back to perform a rare double kidney transplant!   Thank you to the doctors, nurses, and technicians who are taking care of my mother and answer all of our questions.   Thank you to the hospital receptionists and security guard who answered my sisters’ and my questions.   Thank you to our friends, family, and neighbors for the outpouring of kindness, well wishes, and prayers.    Thank you to my sisters, for holding my hand this week.   Thank you to our dad for being such a great husband to our mom.

This incredible gift wasn’t only given to an amazing woman. It was also given to her family and friends. Her Boy Scouts. Her Girl Scouts. Her students. Her church choir. Her interns. An entire community.

And now, there’s 6,763…

Also Read These Related Posts:
Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness
Bilateral Nephrectomy
Looking for a Living Donor
Heart, Mind & Body
Riotflower’s Best Gift Ever

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Looking for a Living Kidney Donor

Tags

family, kidney disease, organ donor, pkd

My mom, Deborah Dennell, has PKD. Two years ago, I introduced her to you. Debbie is a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and scout leader. She has been on dialysis for 4 years and has been waiting for a transplant. In October 2012, she had to switch from peritoneal dialysis to hemodialysis. Since then she has spent the majority of her days in the hospital. In November 2012, she had a bilateral nephrectomy (both kidneys removed) because they were so large they were further degrading her quality of life. After being on the waiting list for several years she has received two calls, but neither kidney was viable.

March 14th was World Kidney Day and my sister and I have launched an on-line search to find a living kidney donor for our mom. You can become her guardian angel by being her living donor. Like and share the page to help spread the word about her cause! Please help us find a match!

Our Cause FB Page: Deborah Dennell Needs A Kidney
Read more about PKD: PKD Foundation
Become a Living Donor: National Kidney Foundation
Register to become an Organ Donor: OrganDonor.gov
Spread the Word: Purchase PKD Awareness Shirts & Gifts

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and help with our cause!

Bilateral Nephrectomy & Definition Wall Art

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art, craft, crafting, mother, pkd, wall art

Some of you may remember that my mother has been struggling with PKD. Today was her bilateral nephrectomy, a very serious procedure. Luckily the surgeon WAS able to do the procedure laparoscopically with 5 small incisions and only one 5″ cut. She was in a lot of pain tonight and still recovering.

In lieu of flowers, balloons, or teddy bear, I made her some more special. Definition art has been a trend for a few years. After contemplating how to show my mother how very cherished and important she is, I was able to finally put it into words…

Definition Art: Mother

Thanks for all the positive energy, thoughts, and prayers!

Heart, Mind & Body

Tags

family, kidney, pkd, polycystic kidney disease, preemie, transplant

It’s been a long week and I’ve been a little too preoccupied with life, to post about it. My heart, mind and body seem to all be in completely different places at the moment. This past week was the clichéd emotional roller coaster. If you followed my Facebook page, then you know a little about what’s been going on in my world .

For starters, last weekend one of my close friends went into an early labor, extremely early. Things were scary for a few days and the doctors performed a C-Section. She is now the proud momma to an adorable tiny boy… 3 lbs 8 oz. A healthy boy, but tiny. Not prepared for him to come into the world yet, I had to meet him empty-handed, but full hearted. I’ve never made any baby things for a preemie yet, but I’m working on it (and hope to post soon). Mother and baby are both doing well. It’s wonderful how something scary can turn out so well.

Early Thursday morning, my mother got a phone call saying she was being offered a kidney for a transplant. I thought it was the best day of my life (it’s okay, Hubster even agreed that I could say it was better than our wedding day). We quickly made plans to head to my parents. My heart and mind were all over the place. Overjoyed for my family’s good news, yet my heart was heavy with grief for the donor’s family. I kept thinking about the (little) information I knew about the donor and her family, she was my age. All day Thursday we waited for the next call, telling us when to be at the hospital. Once the kidney was harvested, we found out that it was no longer viable. My mother actually ended up with a major infection and had to be admitted to the hospital. I wondering what if they had harvested the organs earlier, would my mom already have antibiotics through her system and wouldn’t have ended up with an infection? Or what if the kidney was still viable, but she got the infection, then would anyone else still have a chance to get that kidney?

An Orchid for Mom

With a hospital room filled with family, friends and flowers, my mother is doing better today, at least her spirits seem to be lifted. She’s still at the hospital, at least until Wednesday. We don’t know much about the infection yet. We just have to wait and see. After a few days at my parents, we headed back home to resume our lives as best we can now. My body is here, but I feel my mind and heart are somewhere else.

Despite the current trials in my life, I feel that my relationships, friendships and myself are stronger than ever. Hopefully I’ll have some positive news to post sometime soon. Until then, I’ll try to get back in the swing of posting recipes, crafts and other activities in my life.

Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness

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awareness, cause, charity, cure, health, kidney failure, pkd, polycystic kidney disease, postaday2011

This is a more serious post, compared to my usual blog posts.

Meet my Mom: She has been married to my father for 32 years! She enjoys hiking, kayaking, family, friends, and dancing. She started college at the age of 16 and backpacked across the country in the 60’s. She has been active member in her community for ever; Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church choir, PTO, and she started a drug & alcohol halfway house in her 20’s. She’s a terrific mother, friend and grandmother. She has inspired my interests in cooking, gardening, nature, wine, crafts, DIY, etc. Even though I look more like my dad’s mother, I have inherited her freckles, dazzling green eyes, honey colored hair, great eyebrows and dimple. She has PKD, it is genetic disease she was born with (my grandfather had it, my uncle is living with it too). She is on peritoneal dialysis and has been on a kidney transplant waiting list for a few years now. As a result of the PKD, she also has a polycystic liver. Unfortunately, she doesn’t yet have a kidney. The friends and family members who have been tested are not matches. She is one of my best friends and I can’t imagine my life without her in it! ❤ ❤ ❤

Me & My Mom

PKD (Polycystic kidney disease) is more common than down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, sickle-cell anemia, hemophilia & Huntington’s disease… combined!!!

PKD is the most common, life threatening genetic disease affecting 600,000 americans and 12.5 million worldwide.

Did you know ET’s Cojo is living with it?

How can you help???

You can make a donation to the PKD Foundation.

Twining Vine Designs is selling a kidney heart pendant necklace for $32, $20 goes to PKD Research.

Check out the PKD Foundation’s idea page for fundraising!

Look for a walk near you and sign up to participate in 2011’s walk!

Zazzle has a bunch of PKD awareness T-shirts, posters, bags and more. I’m not sure how much of the cost goes to PKD research, check each item before you buy!

Even taking a minute to pass this information along would help raise awareness.

Thank you!!!

What is a cause that is close to your heart?