It has been just over 8 months since Phillip donated his kidney to me. October 7th will always be a momentous day to us. It is special in ways I still cannot find words to describe. Some of life is the same. Some has changed. Here’s what’s different: I have…
Donate Life Night
The Sacramento Kings are partnering with the Donate Life California Campaign to celebrate the miracle of organ donation on Wednesday, February 19th at the Kings vs. Warriors Game. Phillip and I joined Lisa Gonzales at KCRA this morning to chat about how things have been going since our transplant on…
Seeing Yourself as Healthy
Back in the spring of 2011, I was having lunch with a friend and discussing my intention to write Chronic Resilience: 10 Sanity-Saving Strategies for Women Coping with the Stress of Illness. She asked me, “Do you really want to be known as ‘the chronic illness girl’?” At the time,…
Dear Santa,
2013 has been one whirlwind of a year. My book, Chronic Resilience, was released, and, oh yes, I had a kidney transplant. These were two things I had anticipated for years and seeing them come to fruition was unspeakably joyful. This December, I find myself healing up, cooking, nesting and…
The Power of a Shared Experience
Last spring, I became an ambassador for the Donate Life California campaign. Needing an organ transplant quickly heightens your awareness of how important, and generous, it is for someone to decide to become an organ donor. One person can save eight lives and impact the lives of fifty people by…
Kidney Transplant: Part 6
I promise this is the last play-by-play post of my transplant. I wanted to get the experience written down so that I’ll have it. That also means this post is a long one. Thanks for reading along. Our first week at home after being discharged from the hospital was relatively,…
Kidney Transplant: Part 5
Life is the hospital is all about routine – one that starts at 5:00AM. Each morning the nurse would wake me to get my vital signs, weight and draw blood. The next activity was a visit by the transplant residents. They would ask how I was doing, check my incision,…
Kidney Transplant: Part 4
I stood up for the first time at 4:15AM the morning after the transplant. It look a lot of heavy lifting on the part of my nurse, but he got me upright and on the scale to weight myself. This was followed by promptly easing back into bed and shutting…
Kidney Transplant: Part 3
Just joining me? Catch up with Kidney Transplant: Part 1 and Part 2. The first thing I remember after waking up from surgery in recovery was feeling a heavy tightness on my lower left abdomen and the immense relief that came from knowing the surgery actually happened and that I…
Kidney Transplant: Part 2
We woke up at 4:00AM the morning of the transplant because we needed to be at UC Davis Medical Center by 5:30 for our scheduled 7:30 procedure. Phillip and I both showered, dressed in sweats and made sure we had everything packed for our hospital stay: slippers – check, robe…