Well, the wheels of my process have been grinding along, a bit faster these days. A couple of weeks ago, while I was abroad helping my elderly parents with my mother's surgery, I got a call that my intended recipient was suddenly offered a cadaveric kidney, and took it. Given that I was abroad and that I had not yet completed medical testing, he'd been advised to grab the sure thing, and the surgery went well. I'm very happy for him, although I'm sorry I didn't get to be his partner, because I'd really, really bonded with him during this process.
Upon my return home last week, I was offered another potential recipient, and we met Tues. for cross-matching, which we just learned was successful. He, too, is a very special person (I've been blessed with my matches), and we hit it off well.
Meanwhile, early yesterday morning I checked into the hospital's Transplant Unit for two days of tests, and returned home this afternoon. Herewith a few tips based on my own experience (your mileage may vary, of course):
1)
Sleeping over. I was told that I was free to leave after the day's testing would be concluded on my first afternoon, but since I'd have to be back around 6 am the next morning, I slept over. Traveling to my center can take over two hours by three buses (we don't have a car), and they don't run at 4 am. (My intended recipient, who lives not far from me, insisted on making special trips to drive me to and from the hospital). As it was, I was glad to stay over. I had an incredibly relaxed later afternoon and evening. Although I brought a ton of work, and actually worked for a couple of hours, it was wonderful not to have to respond to lots of work-emails, phone calls, etc. I may be the first person to donate a kidney just to get some peace and quiet!!!
2)
Gentlemen: lose the necktie. I arrived in a coat and tie, and it was a pain to keep putting the tie on and off for various tests. Since I'd neglected to use a tie-clip, it also flapped around at inopportune times and places. Eventually I just gave up and stuffed it in my bag.
3)
Bags: apart from your overnight bag, I recommend bringing some sort of canvas tote bag, for your binders with previous tests, notebooks, water bottle, little snacks, etc. Park the overnight bag someplace, and you can trot through the various stations of the testing, interviews, etc., carrying the key items for those tasks. I also used the bag to hold my 2-liter specimen bottle for the 24-hour urine collection, so that I could use it even if I were downstairs waiting for a chest X-ray, for example. I wish I'd thrown in a sweater, because some of the air-conditioned places I had to visit were extremely cold.
4)
Binders of previous tests: the first doc who interviewed me asked to look through my own binder to see what I'd already done. Fine, although it was organized in somewhat idiosyncratic order, since it was for my own use. For example, some sections of test results were interspersed with my handwritten lists of questions, medical journal articles, and printouts of "greatest-hits" LDO posts. And, for all I knew, there may have been the odd shopping list or wedding invitation tucked in among all the test results. I also although it was a little strange that he didn't just pull my official Transplant Unit chart (I mean, I assume I
have one, right???), since I sent them anything I had. Still, I'm glad my own binders were complete and updated. But had I known someone else might use them, I would have tried to organize them a little differently.
5)
Sleep-wear: I was glad that I brought my own pajamas for sleeping. They had pockets, into which I put my wallet, keys, cell phone, and ID, thus not having to worry about them disappearing from my drawer overnight. I could have deposited these items in the hospital's safe, but I worried I might need something quickly, so I kept them with me.
6)
Light: I wish I'd brought a small clip-on reading light, to be sure my overhead light was not disturbing the sleep of my roommate, who had just been through a transplant operation plus another one or two for related medical problems. We also had a third roommate with us, but he checked out before the day was out.
7)
Confidentiality. Throughout this process (I'm entering month 13), I've tried to tell nobody besides my wife, my clergyman, and the medical system. I finally had to tell my boss this week, because yesterday I had to miss a full day of important meetings at the office, and I figured she had the right (and need) to know. At the hospital, I discovered I was two doors down from somebody I know from work (not from my own department) who had just donated. I also know his family, which is even sort of related to mine. So I asked him not to mention that we met to any colleagues or relatives. But, for those who are trying to be close-mouthed about the process, it's worth thinking through how to handle such possible incidents. [By the way, I've also revealed my plans to one good friend when I discovered, from her online posting, that she was also planning to donate. Also, I'd discussed my plans with three surgeon friends, two of whom are transplant surgeons.]
Allergies: [If you see this prefaced by a smiley face, I don't know why it's there] At my intake interviews, everybody questioned me very carefully about allergies and sensitivities, particularly once I mentioned I have mild asthma. I also get hay fever and am sensitive to a fruit or two. Indeed, my admission bracelet was even red! I felt very special.... The concern mainly involved the contrast dye for the abdominal CT for my kidneys, etc. To protect against reactions, I got an overnight course of "preparation" with steroids (prednisone). By the way, it's true that you feel a lot of heat once they finally introduce the dye, although it may take a little while (I also felt, just before the heat, some brief pain). I welcomed the heat, because the room was COLD!!! I'd thought it was to balance out the heat the patient feels, but the technician explained they kept the room so cold because the CT machine likes to be very cold. I'm glad
one of us does....
I hope some of this is helpful to others.
In a separate post, I'll say a little about my test results, and throw a question or two out to the gang.
Be well, Snoopy
Topic: Update/In-patient pre-testing (Read 4062 times)