The Call Was Answered

If you want to visit me at dialysis, see what it’s all about, your time is (hopefully) running out. I have a surgery date, and it is soon: February 22^nd. It is a huge relief and entirely unexpected to have the surgery so soon. As always, the date comes with a story.

My scheduled donor is a work colleague of mine, Jackie. Jackie approached me in the fall with questions about kidney donation because she was interested in donating a kidney to a stranger, not knowing that I was on dialysis. Imagine that conversation. I did not expect her to pursue the testing (I don’t really expect anyone to pursue testing, to be honest – it’s too much to expect), and I certainly did not expect her to be a compatible donor.

Jackie visited me to ask about donating a kidney in part because I spoke, in 2008, about donating. This was a presentation during our school Justice Week concerning disability. While I don’t remember doing this, the talk planted a seed for Jackie. I’m telling her story a bit here, but that idea germinated for her this fall when I put out a request for donations to the Kidney Walk fundraiser (a request to which many of you responded generously!). She took on the screening process aggressively and heard that she was a match on the solstice, December 21^st. (I was reminded that the 21^st is my aunt Gigi’s birthday – Gigi, who was to donate to me in 2002, story for another time). Jackie asked to meet with me in January, and I swear I had no idea about what. She told me that she was a match and hoped to have the surgery in February. Given our school calendar, this would put our recovery over a long weekend. February seemed wildly optimistic to me; we found that Bruce was a match in January and the surgery was scheduled for April. But a week later I received a call that the surgery was scheduled for February 22^nd. Even the team meeting, the doctors, coordinators, and surgeons, was able to schedule the surgery a week before I expected - a week before I was told to expect it. Throughout this, Jackie pushed the process and was enthusiastic and hopeful. That’s why the surgery is happening as soon as it is – her enthusiasm and hope.

I am characteristically cautious as the date approaches. We have a final set of tests the week before to confirm the match, and any number of other things can happen between now and then. Yet the relief I feel at the impending surgery is immense. I’m counting down dialysis treatments (6 left). And while I am working hard to temper my excitement about life beyond transplant, I am starting to imagine my free afternoons, and fewer, and much smaller, needle sticks.

Dialysis has mostly been without incident, though my Friday “poke” was a bit rough. I asked the tech to try a different site for the needle (as the site is supposed to be varied to preserve the graft, and because after repeated pokes in the same spot my arm was getting sore), but they couldn’t cannulate the graft and it infiltrated. That’s happened a few times before – basically the needle pokes through the graft and causes a big bruise. My forearm feels sore today. The graft is still working, however, and will probably make it for 6 more treatments. But that’s the relief; it only has to make it for 6 more. Every time I say that, and I will add here, I remind myself that the transplant might not work, or it might not work for very long. It is a sobering refrain.

On the whole however I am optimistic, and as always part of that optimism comes from you – your attention, thoughts, prayers, and love. Especially those of you who considered donating an organ to me, and especially especially those of you who pursued that. You are part of the forever story of my life.

I read that last part to Corinne. She asked if I was expressing gratitude to her specifically, I said no, she said DAMNIT. So I’ll add that here: thank you to my partner in all things silly and lovely, Corinne. Thanks for reading!