When I was young I think all I wanted was to be loved...in high school, when I was 15, I met the person that was to be the one to "complete me" (cheesy phrase, but it works). Gene & I married on April 9, 1977 and from that day to this one... it has been good times, some bumpy ones, some glorious ones...some devastating ones...we lived them all - together.
When we married, we knew there was a possibility that Gene may have the disease his father had called ARPKD or polycystic kidney disease. His father died of complications of a kidney transplant and the kidney he received, his body rejected. That was in 1974.
In 1996 Gene was diagnosed with PKD. The diagnosis came & went...we worried, we cried, but we carried on. Gene eventually went on to dialysis and chose the peritoneal method, as this enabled him to continue to work and have the mobility to enjoy all sorts of things...however, there were lifestyle changes, lots of favorite foods had to be limited and he could not go swimming. He had a few surgeries for things and some emergency room visits, but for the most part during those years we just went through each day, doing very ordinary things....until 2009...
In 2009 Corey was getting married in November and we spent 8 months planning, shopping and getting ready for her wedding. Her wonderful and special day came and she married the man of her dreams, Ron...our 1st son-in-law...and that day so filled our hearts with the biggest smiles and so much joy...how could anything top it? Well... in May of 2010, Brian graduated from Tulane University...and so we planned and traveled to New Orleans to spend a wonderful week of celebration with Brian...again a time of lots of smiles and good times, meeting his wonderful friends and their families and eating amazing food...so, could we top this? Just around that same time...Jesse called to let us know that the love of her life, Trevor, had proposed and they wanted to get married in August! Yikes! (Well, I sort of already knew...) but with this wedding we had only three months to pull off a great event - an absolutely fun party...and we did! and so...do you think we were ready to top this? I think we did!
On Saturday, December 11 at around 5pm, we received a phone call from UCSF...with an offer of a kidney for Gene. We had just been to UCSF a month prior for Gene to renew all his tests and again be "ready". He apparently had moved up further on "the list" ...feeling a bit unsettled and not sure what to think (as we had gone through this twice before) we just put things in the back of our minds...not thinking we would ever receive "the call"...well, indeed, we did! In a very stunned state, Gene said, "Yes!" to the offer.
The kidney was actually two kidneys, as the donor was a young child and they transplant both the child's kidneys to work as one adult kidney. The procedure is a little riskier, as the kidneys and all the connections (veins, ureter, etc) are so small. Surgery was set for 4:15am on Sunday, December 12 and thus a new life began!
I am writing this in the third week after transplant and I have to say the first few days were all about the hospital, scared silly and at the same time joyful, worried, hesitant to actually have feelings and thoughts that were all over the map! But Gene got to be released from the hospital only 3 days after the surgery...and is slowly and steadily recovering. We got to have all of our kids and our two wonderful son-in-laws here for Christmas. The new year came and went but we have the blessings of a new life, a new beginning and a new journey.... and off we go!
I would love to host more tea parties!
