Oh what a year!

14. December 2008 by Carol.

Today it has been one year since I was wheeled in the operating room a sick person and came out with Jaime’s kidney inside me giving me health and life.  Hard to believe!  Doesn’t seem like it’s been a year, yet at the same time it feels like an eternity ago.

 It’s been a year of healing, learning, adjusting, having really good days and having really bad days - with the entire spectrum in between.

But I’m alive today and I’m not on dialysis.  Those two things add up to one HUGE, ENORMOUS blessing!

So as I think back over the year I know that I need to repeat a number of thank yous again to people who have helped me through.

First of all I have to thank the Lord for all of His coordinating in bringing Jaime and me together in the right place and at the right time to give me back my life.  He apparently is not done with me yet!

Then, of course, I am grateful to Jaime who willingly and lovingly made the sacrifice to choose surgery and the loss of one her kidneys to give me life.  What an incredible gift!

And there are the medical professionals who have walked through this year with me:

Dr. David Holt - my wonderful, amazing surgeon at Loyola

Dr. Susan Hou - my nephrologist at Loyola who is a remarkable woman

Anita Pakrasi - my post-transplant coordinator (who has gone above and beyond!)

And others from Loyola - Dr. John Milner (Jaime’s surgeon); the other post transplant coordinators at Loyola who are on call when Anita is not available and who have, more than once, taken those weekend calls I’ve had; the staff on what was then the sixth floor post surgical unit; the staff from the ICU at Loyola and the staff at the Loyola outpatient clinic

Then there is Dr. Beth Larson, my general doctor, who I love so very much.  She is an incredible doctor and a wonderful example of a godly woman.  There is no one like her.  Dr. Greg Kozeny is my nephrologist out here where I live and he has seen me through so many years of preparing for the transplant and has helped me sort through things this past year when I have gotten confused.  I am blessed to have these doctors in my life.

The lab team from Central DuPage Hospital’s outpatient lab are such great people and really know how to “stick it to me”!  There’s Jeannie and Norma and Almas and others who have been patient and careful in all the pokes and sticks that I need to have done.  They are just great and make a visit to the hospital an almost fun experience!

There’s my sister, Barb, who is one of the most amazing and capable women I know.  She has done so much for me this year and I cannot thank her enough.

There are my “parents” John and Joanna who have seen the ugly sides of me this year and still have stuck with me.  I am so grateful for their patient and consistent love for me and their influence in my life.

I have been blessed with wonderful friends and if I try to name them all I am afraid I will miss someone’s name but I need to mention my best friend Paulette; my friend Sue and her husband Ralph; John B. who has helped me with a number of things around my house but has also been a good friend for a long time; Ray and Inger and their delightful boys Raymond and Matt; Doreen; and Dee and Laura.

Bill and Linda Richardson, the rector and deacon from my church, Church of the Savior, have blessed me with their prayers and their care and their listening hearts.  The family from Church of the Savior have prayed for me, cared about me and welcomed me back with open arms.

Then there are my friends and colleagues from work - from Awana.  God has blessed me with a great job in a great organization working with some terrific people.  I especially thank Nate for helping me get myself back on my feet again and answering all my questions on things I keep forgetting.

I know I am missing some people - and I ask for grace and forgiveness in not mentioning you.  But know that all of you who have helped me through this first year of change and adjustment have blessed me in many, many ways.

Thanks for indulging me in reading this trip down the 2008 memory road.  Next year will bring a new set of discoveries and experiences.

(And just a note - my website calendar is one day off - December 13th is my anniversary date!)

Posted in A Kidney for Carol - thoughts on the transplant | 1 Comment »