Jody RN - post-op & update

[WilliamLFreeman]

Y'all,

I just spoke with Steve, Jody's husband -- he said it was OK to tell y'all.  (Jody is a non-directed donor; her surgery was yesterday @ U Virginia.)

AWWW-RIGHT!!  She had a lousy night, but feels fine today, is walking around -- and peeing well.  (Steve used more polite language than that.)

Even though U VA's policy is that non-directed donors cannot meet the recipient for 12 months, everyone (Jody, Steve, the recipient, and his family) met in the waiting room before getting prepared for the surgery.  (The Program is not happy about that -- but what are they going to do? throw her in jail?)  A highly emotional, satisfying, meeting -- as we all can imagine.  And the recipient with his "new/used kidney" is peeing just fine, too.

Steve sounded like " "  [Nurses were with Jody, so I have not talked with her yet.]

Bill

[Clark]

Great news, thanks!  You'd think if the transplant center really cared about maintaining anonymity for donor and recipient they'd realize that putting everyone together in the same waiting room at the same time is a sure giveaway.

[Aries7]

FANTASTIC news!! Thank you so much for the update Bill!

Also, I agree with Clark about the transplant center. I mean, if they had everyone together in the same room for several hours, people tend to start chattting. If the center is upset, they should be upset with no one but themselves. <Shakes head and rolls eyes>

Anyway, I am SO happy to hear that Jody is on now "on the other side". A huge welcome to the club to her! (Now, isn't there something about a secret handshake.....

Thanks again!

Linda

[Fr Pat]

       Yes, it is certainly the hospital's responsability if their policy is to maintain privacy. When I donated anonymously years ago the nurse asked about whether I had family/friends accompanying me, so as to keep donor's and recipient's families in separate waiting areas, but they waited until the morning of the surgery, when I was already in the prep area, to ask the question. So it already probably would have been too late. Probably another instance of where the "swap the spare parts" attitude overshadowed the "these are real people with real families" attitude. Those who are thinking of donating anonymously might be wise to bring up this question early with the transplant coordinator. Since most transplants are with people who know or are related to one another, anonymous donations may be too uncommon for the hospital to have a customary set of guidelines in place.
            Fr. Pat

[jennybebopper]

So great to hear! Wishing you a speedy recovery, Jody! As a fellow RN, try not to be too much of a troublemaker patient.   Congrats! Can't wait to be on the other side myself. Please keep us updated on your progress!

[Snoopy]

  Congratulations to Jody and her recipient--and thanks, Bill, for the update. 
  About the privacy issue. As I'd posted earlier, I had initially wanted to remain anonymous from my recipient, but we kept getting appointments for testing, interviews, etc., together, and we ended up driving in together.  I wasn't necessarily so happy with that (though it did work out well for me in the end--we bonded very very well).
  But, anyway, later I realized it's a bit of a moot point.  Our center is not huge, and we would have been bound to meet anyway.  If two new patients are freshly post-op, and one donated and one received....Well, you get the idea.
   Be well, Snoopy

[jodyrn]

Dear folks:   I returned home yesterday, just two days after surgery.  I have to admit, I was a little nervous before the whole thing, but it went so much better than I could have ever imagined.  It has been a life changing event.  I was feeling a bit "depressed" before driving to UVA Thursday.  Some family members thought I might be having second thoughts, but it wasn't that at all.  I wanted to donate more than anything.  I was explaining the sadness to be like going through a pregnancy, giving birth, but not being allowed to see the child.  Well, as you may have read, God had a different plan.  UVA told the recipient that I didn't want to meet them. (A total lie. I told UVA I would love to meet them if they were interested)  I was told I had to wait one year, then the recipient contacts me.  Anyhow, while going over pre-surgery financial into, the lady at the desk mentioned that my recipient was in the waiting room and that HE wanted to meet me.  So, the rest is history.  It was such a moving experience.  I know that it helped in his as well as my recovery. 
I had a very difficult time waking up from anesthesia (4 hours in recovery) -then nausea and vomiting that night.  After that, I have had little pain and have felt great.  A little sore at times.  My gut still isn't working.  Hoping it will wake up soon. 
Well, I could go on for hours.  I have some really cool pictures of the kidney, the recipient and more.  If anyone wants to facebook me, my name is Jody Woodward.  Just message me and let me know you are from LDO. 
Thanks so much for answering my questions and being such a support.  This site really helped me.  Thanks Dr. Freeman for being my pal.    I will enjoy being in the club.          Jody

[sherri]

welcome to the donors club! Hope your recovery goes smoothly. Take it slow and let your body heal. Always nice to be on the other side.

All the best,

Sherri

[lawphi]

So glad it went well and you got to met!