Our Kidney Transplant Journey

I held off on blogging about this chapter in our lives for a number of reasons, but mainly because I wanted to respect Gigi's privacy. Last summer, Gigi informed us that she was going to need another transplant within a year. She had her first transplant a little over 14 years ago and according to medical experts, a kidney transplant can last anywhere between 15-20 years. When we found out the news, Gigi's sister, Stacey's brother Scott, and I all volunteered to get tested to see if we were matches. Miraculously, all three of us were! However, I was deemed to be the most healthy, so the specialists chose me to be the desired donor.

I haven't had any second thoughts whatsoever about this whole thing. I have been a registered organ donor since I turned 18, try to give blood regularly, and just felt like this is the right thing to do. After all, this is my mother in law, my wife's mother, my kids' grandmother! I would do this for any one of my family members.

Over the past several months, I have literally had a $1 million medical workup (LOL!) from blood work, to MRIs, Cat Scans, you name it. Honestly, it's all been pretty interesting and I am fortunate to be able to be in this position where I am ALIVE to help someone like this!

With a week out, I admit that I have some anxiety, who wouldn't?!..... mostly because of the fact that I have never broken a bone nor ever had surgery. My anxiety stems from the fear of the unknown and not knowing what to expect post surgery. I am confident things will go smoothly, but as with any surgery, there are risks. I am not really worried about any of those because based on all the tests, there shouldn't really be any risks. It also gives me some peace of mind that we will be at a special transplant center, so we know that this is all they do day in and day out! VTC is a well respected transplant facility and my surgeon has told me that he has no doubts that I will recover just fine. One of our neighbors is a nurse anesthetist and I have asked her to be in the OR and administer the anesthesia, which I believe will help calm any fears I may have. Although I wish Stacey could be there to hold my hand, I know I will be in good hands throughout the process.

We've talked to the kids about all of this as well and they seem fine about the whole thing. They know what is going on and what I am doing and what Gigi needs. They seem to understand it all. I wish they would be able to come down and be there, but no kids under 11 are allowed. They will be in great hands with our neighbors and friends who have graciously offered to care for them during this time.

I couldn't have gone through all of this without not only the support of Stacey and the kids, but all of our friends and family. They have been amazing through all of this and definitely gives me peace of mind that they will all be praying for us next week. After all, we all know what the power of prayer does!! God has definitely had a hand in this and brought me into this family for a reason. Please continue to pray for us through this journey and I pray God watches over both Gigi and I during the surgery and heals us quickly for a speedy recovery.