My FIL is getting a transplant right now!

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What fabulous news, GB!!!! I didn't know he was in need of a kidney, but I know how hard dialysis is. Your wife must be on cloud nine. Is her dad there in MA?

This may sound weird, but please post when ya'll hear the new kidney is making urine. It's "hold your breath" time until that happens, but everyone in the OR starts celebrating when it does!
I watched a kidney transplant on television not two weeks ago. That this is coming up now is quizzical. Anyway, funny you say that as the first thing that they did was made sure the new kidney pe'd. It did! Their words, "ah, that's a beautiful thing."
 
Thank you all!

We got word this morning that the kidney is working!!! They told us it could take a few days for it to "wake up" and start producing, but it actually started working last night. We are thrilled beyond belief!!!

that is wonderful news , GB !
 
GB, so glad to hear everything went well. Here's to many more wonderful years together with the family. Treasure each moment.
 
I just got another update. I guess the kidney is not working completely yet. There was some output, but not up to normal levels. This is normal though so we are not worried. It sounded a little too good to be true when we heard it was already working.
 
Yes we are very very happy. It is like a dream come true. My wife did something she should not have though. She was very curious about the donor. The doctor told them it came from a young person, but that is all they could tell her for confidentiality reasons. Well DW did some research and is pretty sure she knows who the kidney came from. Now that she knows something about that person it makes it very difficult for her to deal with her emotions. She is, of course, thrilled for her dad, but she is extremely sad for the family of the donor. My wife is a very emotional person so she is having an inner struggle right now. She feels guilty for being happy. Thankfully she understands the reality of the situation and is not beating herself up over being happy. She is dealing with the guilt in a very healthy way thank G-d.
 
I think I posted somewhere not long ago that I heard one day watching Fox that 38 million people in the US suffer from kidney disease. What are we all doing wrong I wonder since I'm one of them......

I was interested in this statement so looked this up

"The two most common causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure. If your family has a history of any kind of kidney problems, you may be at risk for kidney disease."

this came from this website
Your Kidneys and How They Work

Diabetes and high blood pressure sure are prevalent in the US these days..
 
GB bless you for understanding how your wife deals with things and letting her do so, her way.
:)
 
Yes we are very very happy. It is like a dream come true. My wife did something she should not have though. She was very curious about the donor. The doctor told them it came from a young person, but that is all they could tell her for confidentiality reasons. Well DW did some research and is pretty sure she knows who the kidney came from. Now that she knows something about that person it makes it very difficult for her to deal with her emotions. She is, of course, thrilled for her dad, but she is extremely sad for the family of the donor. My wife is a very emotional person so she is having an inner struggle right now. She feels guilty for being happy. Thankfully she understands the reality of the situation and is not beating herself up over being happy. She is dealing with the guilt in a very healthy way thank G-d.

GB, let her know that the donor would not have wanted to be donor if they didn't want to make someone else happy. That is why we do this, to help someone and let them be happy.
 
Thanks TG. Logically she knows that. I think she was more upset for the donors family. She seems to have figured out how to deal with it now because she is doing great now.

She got to visit him today and said he looks so much better already. He was loopy on meds, but told the nurse he wants to get up and walk around. This is a huge change from lately and a very exciting turn of events.
 
I was interested in this statement so looked this up"The two most common causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure. If your family has a history of any kind of kidney problems, you may be at risk for kidney disease."this came from this website
Your Kidneys and How They WorkDiabetes and high blood pressure sure are prevalent in the US these days..
I am told my blood pressure is very low, they think I'm almost dead:wacko: every time they take it. Diabetes, nope, no concern there either.
Loved you getting the info out there. Thank you.
So I worked with a lady today who is giving up one of her kidneys in two weeks.
She's been through the ringer having tests and the lady recipient, is the secretary at her church. She wasn't a first runner, she was considered a person of interest if the original donor wasn't perfect and it was found that the original donors one kidney functioned at 40% and the other one functioned at 80%. So that person is out and she will give up one kidney to a lady that she knows and feels strongly about. Mine aren't that great and I take my hat off to her for the decision to help out an other person.
 
I just got another update. I guess the kidney is not working completely yet. There was some output, but not up to normal levels. This is normal though so we are not worried. It sounded a little too good to be true when we heard it was already working.
Sometimes this happens and it takes a few days of Lasix to nudge the new kidney into action. It's a spooky time because so much is riding on it but things should stabilize soon. Please keep us updated on his progress and recovery, GB.

Your wife must be a very lovely person. It's really hard for people like that to take joy in a situation that springs from such a painful event in another's life. The way I handled it was to decide that I would take every opportunity to "pay it forward" from then on. (That movie was years away at the time, but it describes it so much better than I could.) It helped me so much to be able to take action that I could mentally dedicate to my daughter's donor and his family.
 
That is such a nice way to handle it FM!

Yes my wife is one of the most loving people I have ever met. I knew, long before this transplant ever happened, that when it did it would be an issue of sorts for her because of it. She is really handling it remarkably well though and is focusing on the good that has come out of it and it is not dampering her joy anymore.

FIL is sitting up in a chair and eating which is great news. DW is on the way over there to see him now. Things are going as well as we ever could have hoped.
 
FIL is sitting up in a chair and eating which is great news. DW is on the way over there to see him now. Things are going as well as we ever could have hoped.
This is just wonderful! I know it will be a pleasure for him to be able to drink as many fluids as he wants to whenever he wants to. Such a simple thing that we all take for granted but for someone who's been on dialysis - it's like one of the best presents ever.
 
After seeing them watch their fluid intake so carefully, I can see how that would be one of the best gifts. Like you said FM, it is something that so many of us take for granted. I could not imagine not being able to drink whenever I am thirsty.
 
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