"Kidney Donation: Part 7"

I finally made it home! My plane arrived really late last night. I got stuck in Atlanta for several hours. I now understand how all of those people feel that are trying to travel around the holidays. I was laying on the floor and using my carry-on as a pillow. I have a new appreciation for the people that work at the airport check-in desks. They were getting chewed out constantly for things that were not within their control. It's got to be a horrible job.
Anyway, moving on.........
As far as I know, all the tests went pretty well. There are still a couple of them that they don't have the results of. I was told that the "review committee" will meet Tuesday morning to decide whether or not I'm approved to donate. Their team gets together every Tuesday to go over any patients that have been testing. I'm supposed to find out Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday. Wish me luck!
I have a pretty good feeling. Of course, there is always the chance that they found something that I don't know about. I do know that they found a kidney stone in my right kidney. How ironic is that?! They said that it was so small that I should pass it without any problems. Sounds like fun huh? Apparently, that won't affect me donating.
I'll let everyone know as soon as I find out.

Please feel free to leave comments or ask any questions by clicking HERE. Or, you can email me at melswanson@gannett.com.

"Kidney Donation: Part 6"

I'm now on my 2nd full day of testing at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ. Things have been pretty intense the last couple of days. I had heard that they really put potential donors through the ringer and they weren't kidding. To me, the psychiatrist was the hardest part. Her job is to bring up all of the most horrible parts of your past and see how you react to that. Then, to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't donate a kidney to someone. I understand that they have to do that to make sure that I'm not crazy and can handle the pressure.

Mainly the testing process is difficult b/c there are so many different tests. They check you from head to toe, inside to outside. Since these doctors took the oath to do no harm, they have to be really sure that they're not going to take a perfectly healthy, YOUNG (yes, I said young) woman and make her worse.

For now, I don't have any answers. I feel like everything has gone fine so far. But, the tests results won't be in until later in the week. I wanted to add a few pictures that were taken last night when I went to Masud's house to meet some of their closest friends.

"Kidney Donation-Part 5: I've arrived!"

Well, I finally made it to Pheonix. I'm sitting in my hotel room. I met Masud, Sharmin, and their two little boys today at the airport. I spent the rest of the evening with them. We got a rental car, my hotel room, and then went out to dinner. We all had a great time! Here's a picture from dinner below: I have to start by telling what happened when I got off the plane though. They were all waiting for me right outside the security checkpoint. When I came around the corner, I could see this tiny woman running towards me. She way crying. It was Sharmin (Masud, the recipient's, wife). Sharmin and I hugged for at least 3 minutes. Behind her was Masud, Fahib (10 yr old son), and Maheeb (4 yr old son). Fahib handed me a teddy bear with a Arizona tshirt on and said, "Thank you so much for coming!" Of course, Masud and I hugged. Then, I hugged the little one. He's adorable. He reminds me a lot of my little one.

I had met a guy about my age on the plane. He was sitting next to me. We talked and I told him the story about how I was flying to Pheonix for medical tests b/c I was donating my kidney to a stranger. He was in awe. I think I ended up talking him into considering it himself. It's a very personal decision; that's for sure. Well, he walked with me off the plane and to the place where I was to meet this family. I think he was making sure everything was ok. I thought it was sweet. He stood there while I hugged all of them. I think when he saw her cyring, it made his decision. I could just see that look on his face.

Well, I'm going to make this one short. It's past midnight Shreveport time. So, I'm pretty tired. I'll write more each night to let everyone know how the tests are going. Keep praying for all of us.

Melissa