Community webinar to discuss becoming living organ donor

 

Recuperation journey: Transplant forum inspires

As a kidney recipient I was invited to the sixth annual Join the Journey event Saturday at Messiah Baptist Church in Bridgeport. I'm so glad I was able to attend. 
I heard some amazing stories of strength and resilience recounted by other kidney transplant recipients, and a liver transplant recipient who now needs a kidney.
I'm pictured here with Joyce Albert, senior clinical transplant coordinator at Yale-New Haven Hospital, left, and Devon Greenwood, center, who donated a kidney to someone she didn't know. 
Her husband, William, was working and unable to attend. He needed a transplant last year and received one from my sister-in-law, Suzanne Watson, who stepped forward and was tested to be a donor when she learned I needed a kidney. 
Devon Greenwood said her husband is doing fine, as is she. I'm happy to report that Suzanne, my husband's sister, is also feeling fine.

Before going to the program I wrote this post about not being able to take anything from the breakfast buffet. 
I had no problem getting food straight from the kitchen. All of the church women working there were so friendly and accommodating to visitors!

Recuperation journey: Kidney-themed gifting

Gimme a K! Gimme an I! Gimme a D! and so forth 
Daughter Allegra surprised me with this lovely purple kidney key fob for Christmas. 

Meanwhile I had sent my wonderful donor, West Hartford resident Robin Gilmartin, a kidney-shaped key fob Christmas gift, just for fun. 
She had given me a kidney key fob when we met in July at a press conference at Yale-New Haven Hospital. 
We were part of an 18-person kidney transplant chain and that was the first time we had met. 

She had ordered the kidney fob on a website where one can buy kidney-shaped jewelry and other items. 
Who knew there was kidney transplant jewelry? Not I. 
It's fun to look at what's available. 
Click here to check it out.

And to view the I Heart Guts site my daughter found, click here, if you have the guts. 

* Kidney transplants are also the theme of today's Valley Voice newsletter. Please check it out!

Recuperation journey: It's only natural

A recipient of a donated organ wouldn't be human if he or she didn't wonder who gave them the gift of life.

I've been wondering since Day 1 who my donor was, and was overjoyed Thursday to meet her, a wonderful woman named Robin Gilmartin. 

I was glad to hear my fellow recipients say when they saw other patients waiting for appointments they would look at them and try to guess if they were their donor.

I did the exact same thing! 
At a pre-surgery appointment I noticed a woman seated with her family and I convinced myself - incorrectly of course - that she was about to be my donor. 
The need to know is human nature.

Here's a photo my daughter took of me (at right) and Robin at Thursday's press conference at Yale-New Haven Hospital: 

We were part of an 18-person kidney exchange! 
I had no idea so many transplants were involved. It's wonderful and overwhelming all at once to be a part of it.

Recuperation journey: My wonderful donor

I love this photo! 
From left: my wonderful kidney donor, Robin Gilmartin of West Hartford, me, my equally wonderful sister-in-law Suzanne Watson of Laconia, N.H. (Ralph's baby sister), and Suzanne's kidney recipient, William Greenwood of Bethel.

I can't thank Robin enough for her altruistic gift.


Photo by Allegra Villers 

Recuperation journey: Good question; feeling silly

Less than two weeks ago this marigold plant had only one bloom ... now I'm wondering if my kidney donor has a green thumb and it has been passed on to me! 

Hmmm ... I'll have to ask her about that.   🌼 

Recuperation journey: Meeting my kidney donor

Medical professionals at Yale-New Haven Hospital uttered the word altruism several times at today's press conference celebrating a recently completed kidney exchange.

I received a kidney May 9 from an altruistic donor as part of the first group of surgeries in what turned out to be an 18-person kidney exchange.

I met my donor, a wonderful woman named Robin, for the first time just before the press conference. It was incredibly exciting to meet the person who changed my life for the better; I told her I couldn't thank her enough! 

I'll be writing about this adventure in future posts. 
Please stay tuned, and thanks as always for reading.

I wanted to share a photo I snapped before the event of this little guy waiting patiently for the big reveal. 
Coincidentally enough he turned out to be the grandson of my sister-in-law Sue's recipient! 
Sue was an altruistic donor, and was thrilled to finally meet the man who now has her kidney.

Recuperation journey: Today's the day

I could barely sleep last night anticipating today's event: a meet and greet for nine kidney recipients and their donors followed by a press conference at Yale-New Haven Hospital. 

I'm so excited to meet the person whose gift changed my life for the better! 

Griffin Hospital in Derby recognized for organ donation awareness

From left: Sharon Bartley and Angelo Bernardo of New England Donor Services present Griffin Hospital VP Patient Care Services Barbara Stumpo and Inpatient Services Administrator Kelly Egan with the WPFL Silver Award./ Contributed photo

DERBY - Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., recently received the Health and Human Services Work Place for Life Silver Recognition Award from New England Donor Services for raising awareness about organ donation.

The WPFL Hospital Campaign encourages hospitals to coordinate donor awareness and registry enrollment activities with their staff, patients, and community members. 

The goals of the campaign are to increase organ and tissue donation awareness in the surrounding community, cultivate a hospital culture that incorporates educating and registering potential donors as part of their standard mission, and provide online organ and tissue donor registration opportunities.

Last year, Griffin Hospital assisted with four organ donations that resulted in life-saving organ transplants for 12 people. 

Partners in the WPFL campaign are committed to building awareness of the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donation registration. 

According to New England Donor Services, there are more than 117,090 people in the U.S. and 1,343 in the state on the waiting list for life-saving organ transplants. 

One donor has the potential of saving up to nine lives through organ donation and can enhance the lives of 50 people through tissue donation.

For more information about organ donation, visit donatelife.net.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

*A subject near and dear to this kidney recipient's heart!

Recuperation journey: Retired AHS principal seeking kidney donor

On Monday I spoke with Wilhemenia Christon, retired Ansonia High School principal.

She told me she has Polycystic Kidney Disease, and is on the transplant list at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She is hoping to find a living donor who will be a match for her.

I also have PKD.
I told her I'd post this information on my blog to help get the word out she's seeking help. 

Raising awareness and helping others with renal disease is exactly why I'm revealing so much about myself in these series of post-transplant posts. Now I hope to help Wilhemenia get a kidney transplant as I did. 

If anyone is interested in being tested to see if they are a match she asks them to please call the Yale-New Haven Hospital transplant center at 203-785-2565.

Recuperation journey: Feels like a milestone

First off, I truly appreciate everyone who is following my current journey. 

I hope writing about my experience here raises awareness of Polycystic Kidney Disease and of the importance of organ donation. 
Maybe someone out there will be inspired to consider being a living kidney donor.
My wonderful sister-in-law Sue did just that, and through her selflessness a stranger received a kidney, as did I. 

This is Week 7 of my having a new kidney, and at the risk of jinxing myself I have to say I feel better than I have in years! I seem to have newfound energy. 

Today I even brought back a bunch of bottles and cans for redemption and made a dent in the pile of empties in my car. If you peered into my car windows you'd think I had become a hoarder. I didn't; I just wasn't out and about.

Thank you, thank you to my anonymous donor. I hope I get a chance to meet you someday!  

Recuperation journey: Raising awareness on 5-week birthday of new kidney

Five weeks ago today I received a kidney transplant, for which I will always be grateful. I have Polycystic Kidney Disease. 

I hope to meet the wonderful person who generously donated his or her healthy kidney to a stranger (i.e. me).

March is National Kidney Month, and in March, 2016 I posted 31 days of a PKD challenge to raise awareness of the disease that may not be that well known.

I want to continue raising awareness of the genetic disease that causes cysts to grow in the kidney, eventually leading to renal failure.

There are two types of PKD: autosomal dominant (ADPKD) and autosomal recessive (ARPKD). 

According to the PKD Foundation website, ADPKD is the more common type and affects more than 600,000 Americans and 12.4 million people worldwide. 
ARPKD is a rare form of the disease that occurs in 1 in 20,000 children worldwide.

The website says a typical kidney is the size of a human fist and weighs about a third of a pound. PKD kidneys can be much larger and weigh up to 30 pounds.

The disease is prevalent on my late father's side of the family. 
He suffered with PKD as did four of his five siblings. My two oldest cousins have passed from complications of the disease. 
After having an ultrasound in my 20s I learned I had cysts on my kidneys. 
My maiden name is McDonald, and I've dubbed PKD "the curse of the McDonalds," and I'll always think of it as that.

An older cousin had a transplant in 2001 and thankfully he is doing well, and we recently learned that a first cousin once removed had a successful transplant about 13 years ago. 
So that makes me the third recipient in our extended family. 

All I can say is organ donors are awesome. 

PKD Challenge for March: Day 14 ~ Become an organ donor

March 14

One organ donor can save up to eight lives. 

Register to become an organ donor today.