This is not anything official, and I haven't researched any facts so take it at face value. This is just what I have learned from sharing my news with so many people these last two weeks.
1. "But don't you have to be blood relatives?"
Nope. Anyone can donate to anyone else, as long as the blood type and cross-match line up. If Howard and I are blood relatives, then mom was sleeping with someone other than dad!
2. "Will you need to be on medication the rest of your life?"
Being a kidney donor leads to very few restrictions for me. I won't have to take any special medications. I will need to take Tylenol, instead of Ibuprofen or Aspirin. The latter two -- NSAIDS (it's on the bottle even!) -- are hard on your kidneys. I tend to take Ibuprofen after a hard workout for sore muscles, but eliminating that is a very small thing compared to the good I'm doing.
3. "What foods won't you be able to eat?"
I will be able to eat anything I want, as long as I follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly. The biggest things I need to focus on are avoiding high blood pressure and diabetes, and -- if I get them -- get them treated. Some people recommend following a healthy kidney diet as a preventative measure, but it's not required.
4. "OMG, you won't ever be able to drink alcohol again!"
Thank goodness this is a myth! It's right there in my packet -- avoid drinking alcohol for the first 48 hours after surgery. 48 hours. 2 days. After that, my liver will do it's normal job processing alcohol, and my kidney will still have nothing to do with it. :-)
5. "Don't you need both kidneys?"
No, in fact some people are born with one kidney and still live perfectly normal lives. That "some people" could be you -- have you ever really had a doctor check the # of kidneys in your body? Our bodies are blessed with an abundance of kidney function. You only need 30% full function. So even going to 50% immediately post surgery, my body will be fine. And the remaining kidney strengthens, so I will get to 65-70% of function. I will still live a full life, even with one kidney.
6. "I could never do that."
I bet you could. If it was your child, or your husband/wife, you would find strength you didn't know you had.
7. "You're a hero."
This is a weird one for me. I tend to be self-deprecating, so I'm not about to stand up and yell "I'm a hero!" to the world. I'm not a hero, but if others want to see me as that, that's ok with me :-)
8. "You're saving Howard's life."
Another weird one for me. Technically Howard won't die if I don't give him a kidney. He can have dialysis and still live. But it would be a very unpleasant, hard life. My surgeon said that dialysis patients age faster than healthy humans -- 2 1/2 years to every one. That makes more sense to me. Dialysis is ugly and time consuming and depressing, and it is hard on the body. So technically I'm not saving Howard's life; I'm saving his quality of life and doing everything I can to ensure that I will have him here for longer.
Thank you to everyone I have spoken to or heard from in the last two weeks. I was very afraid of people's reactions, but I have no reason to be. Every single person has been so supportive and loving and caring, and I'm glad people are asking these questions. Your love has kept me focused and going so far, and will be incredibly important to me in the next few weeks when I'm cursing or getting depressed (a common side effect of the anesthesia) or wondering why I willingly put myself through surgery. I love you all so much!
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