June 19, 2008 by knittedgems
No updates have been posted on this blog in approximately two weeks. Mainly because there have been no updates to apprise people of until now.
Terry finished the last leg of the Phase 2 testing yesterday, June 18th: a two-hour-long Glucose Tolerance Test.
Of course, now we go back to waiting. I do hope you have a hobby to keep you busy.
We have to wait for all the compiled test results (Glucose test, physical, mammogram, etc) to be received by the Johns Hopkins Transplant Center. After they are received and reviewed, Terry will be required to visit John Hopkins Hospital in person for - Can you guess it? - more testing.
Yes, indeed. Just when you thought the tests were completed. Take heart that Terry has completed the lion’s share. All that is left are 3 fancy-machinery tests:
- 3 dimensional abdominal CT scan
- EKG
- Chest x-ray
Translation: Terry will be in town soon. As soon as I know when, I’ll post the details here.
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June 2, 2008 by knittedgems
Yesterday was the Beef ‘n’ Beer to raise funds for Kathy’s upcoming kidney transplant.
Warm thanks go out to everybody who attended, purchased raffle tickets, and otherwise helped to make it a wonderful event.
A Crowd Shot:
The outpouring of support from local businesses and individuals was amazing. Attendees had the opportunity to toss their purchased raffle tickets into bags with the hopes of winning one (or more) of the 44 baskets containing donated goods as well as 22 bags filled with a variety of donated gift certificates.
The line of baskets:
Though Dan and I dropped our raffle tickets into several of the bags, we won absolutey nothing. Dan’s sister-in-law on the other hand won 2 door prizes and 1 basket.
Also up for sale were 50/50 tickets. Half of these ticket sales went to Kathy’s Kidney Fund and half went into a lottery pool.
Here you see Kathy holding several of the purchased 50/50 tickets.
Thank you!
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May 27, 2008 by knittedgems
In my last post, I mentioned that the kidney donor had been chosen. Since this blog will discuss in detail how both the donor and the recipient (Kathy) are doing, an introduction is in order. You have already read a mini bio of Kathy on the About/Home page. The donor, previously referred to as Only Sister, has given me her blessing to blurt out her name. Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce Kathy’s kidney donor.
Picture taken by Michelle H. at Christmas 2007.
I call her Mom, but you can call her Terry. She is Kathy’s elder sister and her only sister. Terry has three children: my husband, Dan, being the eldest along with a daughter and another son. She has one grandchild, my niece Miss C.
Terry currently resides in Maine with her husband Tim. They have 2 Newfoundland dogs, Sadie and Seth, and 1 Great Pyrenees. The dogs love the cold weather and the snow that Maine gets pummeled with each year.
Terry’s hobbies include crocheting, knitting, quilting and collecting purses. Being a fellow fiber lover, we often trade yarny presents at Christmas and birthdays. How I adore shopping for her. I typically buy her exactly what I would want. Grin.
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May 22, 2008 by knittedgems
It just seemed senseless to wait.
Kathy needs a donor match. Only Sister is a match. There was no need to look further.
The process will move onto Step 2. Only Sister will undergo ever more testing. The testing is necessary to ensure that she is healthy and physically able to donate her “spare” kidney. After all the tests are completed, we wait for the results and the green light.
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May 21, 2008 by knittedgems
Brother #1 just received the news that he is also a match!
Yet, he is not as good of a match as Only Sister. A more detailed explanation requires a vocabulary lesson.
HLAs, short for Human Leukocyte Antigens, are used to determine whether a donor is a good match. HLAs are proteins located on a person’s white blood cells and other tissues. A person has a few hundred of these proteins in his/her body. For ease, they are grouped into 3 categories: A, B, and DR.
A person receives an A, B, and DR makeup from his/her father and a different A, B, and DR from his/her mother. The chance of a sibling matching Kathy’s exact HLA makeup is 1 in 4. Thus far, nobody has been an exact match.
Brother #1 matched 1 of 6 HLAs.
Only Sister matched 3 of 6 HLAs.
Thus, Only Sister remains the front liner.
For a more detailed explanation of HLAs, please read this article published by Stanford.
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May 16, 2008 by knittedgems
Kathy’s only sister, my wonderful MIL, was informed by the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland that she was a good match.
Only Sister is thrilled! She had been hoping she would be a match. Kathy is her only sister, afterall. If needed, she would cut off her left arm.
What happends next?
Well, we wait to see if any of the other siblings match. Out of all the matches, one person will be chosen to be the donor.
Assuming Only Sister will remain the chosen donor, she will undergo more testing. By the end, she should feel like a well-used pincushion. Once she is given the green light on all the test results, she will be introduced to a line of doctors and medical professionals: kidney doctor, surgeon, psychiatrist, social worker, transplant coordinator, etc.
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April 27, 2008 by knittedgems
The wheel has already begun to turn. On Monday, April 28th, two of the five potential donors will submit blood work as they strive to learn if they would be a suitable donor.
Monday testing:
Only Sister (my wonderful MIL)
Only Daughter
Testing Pending:
Brother #1 is waiting to recieve the testing materials at his home in Washington.
Brother #2 will contact the hospital on Monday to schedule an appointment.
Brother #3 also needs to set an appointment with his local hopsital.
Many other relatives, even ones that aren’t related by blood, have expressed interest in being a donor. The outpouring of support has been amazing.
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