UpDate

Update: My friend is now on dialysis and doing well. He is no longer in touch with the UCSF Kidney staff.  It was just one big disappointment to all of us. His insurance, PacifiCare, cancelled his policy, and he is now on Medicare. I guess everyone with End Stage Renal Disease automatically goes on Medicare. Maybe we can explore other ways for me to donate now, not going thru UCSF.

Back in the Race!

Oh Yes - I am back in the race again, after stopping out for a mechanical, to use cycling terminology.

Just got called by the UCSF Transplant Center Coordinator, and they are willing to continue my testing to become a donor for my friend. My lab tests showed such improvement that they are willing to continue. I have to schedule two days worth of testing, such as echocardiogram, a twenty-four hour blood pressure monitoring, twenty-four hour urine collection, and bring them the results of my latest eye exam. Specifically, what they want from the eye exam testing is to see that the blood vessels in my eyes showed no damage from blood pressure. As the doc I saw up there last time said, “ The eyes are the windows to the kidneys”.

So, here we go again, and I hope that my body tells them that I am healthy and ready to donate. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

If at First You Don't Succeed...

Well, it has been almost three months since I went through the testing procedures at UCSF to be a kidney donor. At that time, the transplant team was concerned about my cardiovascular risk and uric acid level being high normal. High normal is 6.8 and mine was 6.9

In the past months, I have lost weight, been eating healthy (gave up junk food), continued with my exercise program, and gone on cholesterol-lowering meds. I had a blood panel done through my local doc last week and the news is really good. My cholesterol has dropped 96 points and HDL is good, as well as LDL. Triglicerides are normal, and my uric acid level is 5.8 which is in the normal range. All very good news toward my donor goal. My blood pressure is now in the completely normal range...

In the meantime, my friend has had a third donor who didn't meet the preliminary requirements, and now a fourth donor has just submitted her blood for testing. This is a tedious, and discouraging process for all involved. Now I will have to try to get my transplant team to reconsider me again for donating. My transplant coordinator told me that there is no guarantee that they will even look at my blood testing results again.

It's kinda weird that my transplant team and even my transplant coordintor have never even met me - I haven't seen any of them. I just have the feeling that if they met me and saw how athletic and robust that I am, it would alleviate some of their concerns, especially with my new test results. I am going to try to present my new "self" and test results to them the first week of April... I am really hoping for a face-to-face meet with these folks... not likely, I know. But at least to speak with my coordinator in person.

Everybody send positive thoughts and energy that this time it will be green lights and a go....