Getting Real

Near enough another week has passed since the last post. I haven't managed to post nearly as much as i had planned to/ would have liked either but, it has been another exceptionally busy week- but its been a good busy; by which I mean I only had one morning of appointments. I therefore had plenty of time to do what I wanted to do for once and not waste time sitting in a waiting room at the hospital. So now the summer hols have started, I've completed my first year as a qualifiedTA; the sun is out and the coffee is flowing. I've also managed to do some drawing this week too- so all in all its been a pretty good damn week.

I know that you're not reading my blog to get a minute by minute run through of my life events, so now lets get onto business...Tuesday night I attended a Transplant talk at the Royal Free. It was lead by two leading consultants from the Kidney and Urology department and three transplant patients. Amazingly, I didn't know either of the consultants as I've normally met most the doctors at least once before!

The talk primarily focussed on Live Transplant Donors/donations, and although this isn't personally relevant to me, it still lead me to ask questions and gain more of an insight into the overall procedure involved with a transplant. Two of the guest speakers were brothers. One brother had given the other a kidney nearly 4 years ago and the other speaker was an Italian lady who had received a kidney from her mother. She was lucky as her mother flew to the UK to donate the organ, but also that her husband also proved to be a successful match- if need be. She actually said that she decided to go for her mother's kidney over her husband as she was older, and therefore she would keep her husband's kidney for a later date for when/if she needs a second transplant. It brought some humour to the room if nothing else!

The hospital had informed me of the talk weeks ago and I had planned to always go. However, on Tuesday morning I began having very strong doubts. I wasn't sure whether I'd loose more than I'd gain. Did I really need to know the ins and outs of the whole procedure? Do I need to know what the scare will look like and that I'm going to have a Central line in my neck for 4 days after the op? And please note- I'm not talking about the Central line on the underground either. I mean a fucking great needle in my neck. Something I have had once before, and something I REALLY do not want to happen again.

It does seem that the live donor transplant is much more straight forward- if you can find a match. The waiting time for a live transplant is less than a year and the patient can be out of hospital in about 4/5 days. I however, do not have this option as the doctors said that due to the way my Diabetes manifests itself, any new kidney would not survive as the Diabetes will attack it like it has my own kidneys. The new pancreas is to give my body a break from the strain of living with Diabetes (for 17 years already)  and allow the new kidney to work properly. On average, a transplanted kidney lasts 12 years if there are no other medical issues. For me, my chances of the new kidney lasting that long are significantly reduced due to the possibility that my Diabetes will return after 5 years of receiving the new pancreas. When I heard this, I wasn't sure whether it was worth going through the double op, the double scar and more than double the stress for something that doesn't seem to have lasting results. However the doctor said that my body needs a break if only for a couple of years being Diabetes free.

I learnt a few new things at the talk; like what a complex and complicated system this is. The way that potential matches are identified from blood types and tissue types; how there is a partner pairing/ swapping system in the UK; how the organs get allocated and that the Transplant Head Office is located in Bristol etc. Moreover, HOW VITAL IT IS THAT WE ALL (IF WE CAN) SHOULD BE ON THE DONOR LIST. There are so many thousands of people just within the UK waiting for a kidney. It should be an 'Opt Out' system rather than an 'Opt In' system. It just should be law that everyone should be on the donor register. Until this whole thing became relevant to me, I never ever realised the importance of being a donor- I suppose like a lot of things, until something impacts you or a loved one directly, the significance of something is not realised or acted on. Over 8,000 people are currently active on the transplant list needing a kidney.

Sitting in the crowds, I counted myself as one of the lucky ones. So far I've managed to avoid Dialysis. So far, I am still able to carry out a 'normal' daily existence. Yes, I get overly tired but I am still able to go out, see friends, work a bit, draw and see friends. I was also the youngest one there so hopefully my recovery will be faster and smoother than some of the 60 year olds in my position.
Actually, apart from stupidly hurting my rib this week, medically I've had one of the best weeks I've had in a while. I've been less tired and I've actually managed not to have a nap in the afternoonS. This means I'm WINNING AT LIFE this week- lets hope it continues. 

The talk lasted 2,5 hours and gosh, I felt like I'd been there for days by the time we left. (My best friend came with me). And, thankfully he did as I would never have managed to get home without him. By the way- Best Friend, if you're reading this, you know who you are and thank you for being with me. 

So, for now, I'm going to say too-dah-loo, farewell and please come back to read the next instalment of Finding Kev. Heres to another glorious weekend and if you want any further info about registering to be an organ donor, be in touch.