It’s been almost a year since I last blogged so I thought I should catch up and try my best to keep it up to date. Probably the reason I have time to write is because Reagan is in Texas at the moment! She went to stay with Nana & Papa for two weeks so I can recover from surgery. My surgery was a kidney transplant. On September 13th, I received a kidney from my donor, Sean Dietz. I am so grateful for his selflessness and courage. He will never fully understand how much this means to me. He has made my life so much better as my kidney disease has simply vanished after the transplant! I will be on medications for the rest of my life, but I will definitely take that over feeling like I’m 60 years old and not 27!
I was diagnosed with kidney failure when I was 9 weeks pregnant with Reagan. I was advised to terminate the pregnancy as it probably would not work anyway. Tommy and I strongly oppose abortion or terminating pregnancies and told the pregnancy specialist that we were going to do whatever necessary to keep this baby for as long as the Lord wanted. He agreed and and we went to the doctor twice a week from then on. My nephrologist (kidney doctor) was also a major role during the pregnancy. Week by week went by and my numbers were staying stable and Reagan was doing well. She was not growing at a normal rate, but the doctor said that would probably happen due to the disease. We prayed, our family prayed, our friends prayed and our church prayed. Needless to say, after 3 known miscarriages, Reagan was a miracle! God answered my prayers and I was so grateful. The doctors were shocked everything went so well. My nephrologist admitted that he had never seen a pregnant woman’s numbers stay so stable during a almost full term pregnancy and that he knew my church had to be praying for me. What a testimony of God’s goodness!
So Reagan was born and we were adjusting to new medications and a diet. I wanted to keep my kidney function as good as I could so that I did not have to start dialysis. God had a different plan, and in the end turned out so much better than I could imagine. I secretly began praying that my kidney disease would worsen quicker so that I could get on the transplant list. You have to be at a certain function level to make the list. I was told at first that this disease is a chronic illness and I would probably need a transplant in 10-20 years. Well, I certainly did not want to feel so tired and drained for that long. My kidneys did not filter all the toxins out of my body leaving me feeling tired just about all day. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Reagan as she entered her toddler days. I also knew I would not be able to have any more children. So, I prayed. I prayed that the disease would worsen and that God would provide a transplant without me having to go on dialysis. I promise I’m not making this up! God answered EVERY detail of my prayer. After the pregnancy, my numbers dropped very quickly. I began seeing a new nephrologist who was very aggressive about getting me on the list. I did not ask for him... he was just new at the office. Now, I am grateful for him. So, I went through the long process of getting on the list. My function and creatinine were at the exact level it needed to be to be eligible for the transplant list, but was still not low enough for dialysis. WOW!
~Picture Break~
My beautiful baby at our house with Nana while I was at the hospital
I finally made the list around April 2011! They gave me packets to hand out to potential donors if anyone was interested. I’m so grateful to all the people who asked for packets. I was told that it could be 3-5 years before getting a deceased donor so I realized that I would eventually be on dialysis and started making plans. I didn’t think everything would happen so fast! (lack of faith). August rolls around and I get a call that I have a living donor match! I knew Sean was being tested throughout the summer, but it is a very difficult process. I just kept praying it would work out and that I would continue to not have to do dialysis. Then, in early September, after more testing on my part, the date was official. I was having a transplant! All I could do was praise the Lord! Again, he had answered every detail of my prayer! On a side note, my regular nephrologist said 3 weeks before the surgery that if I wasn’t having this transplant I would definitely be starting dialysis in the coming weeks. Again, WOW!
If that’s not enough, God worked it out for my dad to have work meetings in Charolotte the week after my surgery. This might not sound so neat, but my dad hardly ever travels out of Texas for work, and has never even been to North Carolina. Only God could arrange that! My parents got to be here two whole weeks during and after my surgery. By the way, my surgery was in Charlotte about 6 miles from the hotel he stayed in!
So, here I am. Two weeks after surgery and feeling great! I’m so thankful to my God for supplying my every need. He is so good to His children and I’m so thankful He saved me! I want to encourage every reader to take a moment and ask yourselves if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I don’t mean you go to church on Sunday to do your religious duty. I mean you have repented of your sins and have given up trying to live life your way and have decided to follow the Lord. The Bible says that we are to deny ourselves and follow Him. That if we call upon His name, He will save us. Jesus says to repent of our sins. The Lord has been so good to me, how could I not share His goodness with others!
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
—1 Peter 1:8-9
