Nicole's results are in....

I received a call from Nicole last night stating that she talked with Mayo and she is also a compatiable match. Wow I have 3 matches. That is great. Now I have to do the hardest part and figure out who would be the best. I myself called Mayo to get some questioned answered that I had and didnt get anything that I wanted to know.
I'm really frustrated because this is a big deal for me and Im having a hard time. I am going to call again on Monday to talk with another coordinator to hopefully get my questions asked. I would really like a medical oppion on who would be better for me.
I go see my Nephrologist on Monday to have more blood drawn again to see where my levels are at now. I will know some of those results and will share them with you all at a later time.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Wishing Jamie a very happy 27th (thanks Trina!!) birthday today. I will admit I had forgotten how old/young Jamie is. End of May, Parker will be 8. Lord how time flies. Jamie and I had a long conversation this morning about this. My mad hatter turned 5 today. Very fitting for me to give Jamie her first niece as a birthday present. I'm so glad I could make that happen!! For Jamie's birthday this year I followed the usual behavior and called versus mailing a card (well except for the whole niece thing..only time I was on time giving her a gift). I'm never on time with a card or gift, but I do make the phone call. I want to do something special in light of everything that's going on. I have the perfect gift in mind, however am not quite sure where/how I want to purchase it. I may need to do some research or suck it up and deal with nasty, gnarly, snotty salespeople. I might have to be drunk to do that.

Test results.....I may hear something later today, otherwise for sure tomorrow. Nicole (whom I have yet to find the words to thank) sent her donor kit in today and will get results end of week.

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all Moms!!!!

Volunteer donor

A friend and coworker Nicole Kelley has offered to do the blood test to see if she would also be a match. She is 24 years old and in good health. She called on wednesday the 6th and went through the phone questions and gave all her information. They sent out her a kit and she should receive by early next week. When she receives it, she will then go the lab and have all the blood drawn that is required. She will then ship it by fedex overnight. She will be able to call 4-5 days after she shipped it to get the results. Her blood type it A- which is a match for blood type.
She has offered to do this just incase my sisters dont work. Mayo will only allow 1 person to do the 2 day testing to make sure that there body is healthy enough to go through it. So I want more than just 2 people to test to see who would be the best. If for some reason, that 1 person goes through the testing and they find something else that would not let them go through the surgery then my insurance will cover for another to be check. My insurance will cover all of the blood work and testing that these girls are going through. My inusurance will also cover there surgery as well.
I am very thankful to all the people here that have offered to test. I already have been told by my surgeon that it would be best if I had someone within 10 years of my age to be a donor. I am on the waiting list so I can still get a phone call if someone in the region my age has passed away and they are organ donors and are a match I could get theirs. A living donor would be best but if the opportunity comes I will take it because I dont want to put my sisters or any ones else through the surgery and recovery.
I go on May 18th to see my specialist at Mercy to get my levels drawn again. I will know some of those levels at the office right away. I then have my last Chronic Kidney Disease class on May 28th. These classes give me all the information that I would need to get prepared for the surgery or if I ever have to have dialysis.
I am showing some symptoms of kidney failure but they are mild. Some signs are no energy, tired, some nausea, no ambition to do anything, and weakness at some point.

Can we say drug addict?

So I called ahead to the hospital to make sure I could go there to the lab to get the blood draw for this latest kit. I got all the instructions and went there at 7:45am so that I could get right in and get to work without having to take to much time off. I get there and they look at me like I've got 4 heads when I explain what I needed to have done.

They took me to a registar person to get me registered. What should have taken 10 minutes took 45 MINUTES. The entire system to register in patients went down and the woman had to register me in by filling out tons of paperwork.

So that woman took me over to the lab area and I gave the woman there the box and the order. Again, I got the 4-headed look. Why? So I get a buzzer thingy and sit and wait amongst all the other people waiting patiently. The woman at the lab check in asked who I registered, I told her, she picked up the phone to call. All this just to get some blood drawn. Geez!!!

I finally get called back and get settled in the chair that looks like an electric chair. She puts the stretchy thing on my left arm and then stops when she sees the crook in my arm. She asked me about the puncture marks. I told her that I donate blood on a regular basis and I've had two blood draws in as many weeks and for some reason they always go for the left arm. I almost asked her if she wanted to check between my toes and fingers for other track marks.

I got through that fiasco pretty much unharmed. Hungry and aggravated, but unharmed (if you don't count the large red mark from the needle that she left).

Keep in mind that I and the Mayo Coordinator decided that I would do the blood draw tomorrow since the lab was really busy. I went today because my tomorrow is pretty busy and today made more sense. So this morning I get a call from Mayo today reminding me to get the blood draw done if I haven't done it already.

So Tuesday should hold the results.

Test results are in....

and I have to go for another blood draw. Jamie has an antibody to one of my antigens, so this scheduled blood draw will help determine how Jamie will react (accept or reject) to my kidney.

This blood draw will take place at some lab (I have to figure out where/how tomorrow) and will be sent in like the first one was. The draw has to be done on May 8th and we'll get the results on the 12th or 13th of May.

What are antigens and antibodies you ask?

The key to a healthy immune system is its remarkable ability to distinguish between the body’s own cells (self) and foreign cells (nonself). The body’s immune defenses normally coexist peacefully with cells that carry distinctive "self" marker molecules. But when immune defenders encounter cells or organisms carrying markers that say "foreign," they quickly launch an attack.

Anything that can trigger this immune response is called an antigen. An antigen can be a microbe such as a virus, or even a part of a microbe. Tissues or cells from another person (except an identical twin) also carry nonself markers and act as antigens. This explains why tissue transplants may be rejected.

Antibodies are the proteins that can recognize (match) specific antigens. An antibody matches an antigen much as a key matches a lock. Whenever antigen and antibody interlock, the antibody marks the antigen for destruction.

http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/Medicine/Physiology/Immune/Antigen.htm

Stay tuned......

With much sadness...

Kris Buseman has passed. At 7pm last night. And with much sadness, the kidney was not a 100% match for Jamie. We are saddened by the loss of Kris as she was a wonderful woman.

We ask that you keep the entire Buseman family, immediate and extended, in your thoughts and prayers during this time.

As for the kidney transplant, my blood type has been confirmed a match. I will call on Friday to get the rest of the results.

Phone Call.....

When I got into work yesterday I was told by my other coworkers that a really good friend of the family was on life support. She is only 51 years old and has 2 son's which one of her son's was really close to my brother and was with him when my brother passed. I was really heart broken to hear this. After awhile later I received a phone call from my sister Jenny, who works up at Mercy, saying that the family told Jenny that they wanted to donate one of her kidneys to me if she was a match. I started crying because this would mean alot to me to have her apart of my life.
After waiting for awhile more I contacted a family member Nicole Buseman and was talking back and forth to her about all this and they got information from me to give to there donor coordinator. They stated that they would call me if her blood type was a match.
I received another phone call at about 10pm last night from Nicole Buseman saying that her blood type is a match and they were going to test her kidney to make sure that there was no infection in them or any cancer.
This morning I received a phone call from there donor coordinator to ask me some question and to get the phone number to my transplant coordinator to get the papers filled out. All of this has been an emotional rollercoaster. Waiting to her from people and not being able to see the family to give my sympathy. I have not gotten a phone call yet back to finialize all of this.
I have to try to explain this to my 7 year old son that mommy has to have surgery and would be gone for about a month but that he can come see me anytime. This is I believe is going to be the worse yet. I love my family very much and they have been by my side every step of the way......