The Black Family

Happy Kidney Day!!!
It was this day 8 years ago that Andrew received a kidney transplant. When Andrew was 13 years old he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, Membranolproliferative Glomerulonephritis. (It took me a long time to learn to pronounce it correct, and no I don't have any idea how to spell it. I had to google it.) This is a very rare disease in which the body perceives the kidneys as foreign objects, so it is an auto-immune disease. This is a disease that doctors are still learning a lot about.

When Andrew and I first met and started dating he learned that he would have to have a transplant, that was almost 9 years ago. He ended up being put on dialysis for about 6 months while the doctors gave him medication that would actually speed up the process to kill his diseased kidneys. (They feared that his kidneys would pass on the disease to the new transplanted kidney, so they waited.) Andrew was on dialysis 3 days a week for about 3-4 hours each time. There were very large needles and LOTS of blood involved. It was a very miserable experience. However, his time on dialysis was very short in comparison to most people.

After the kidney function dropped the doctors felt it was the best time to go through with the transplant. Thanks to the generosity of Andrew's sister, Janine, he received a new kidney. Janine's kidney was a perfect match. The transplant surgery was done at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. I sat in the waiting room with Andrew's parents, Kim and Jan. We were all sooooooo nervous. It was a day that none of us will ever forget. I will spare you all the details of that day, but I will say that many prayers were answered that day.

It has now been 8 years since that day, we celebrate every year. I usually make something in the shape of a kidney for dinner. We've had kidney shaped pizza, soup bowls, rice crispy treats, cookies, and so much more. It is our fun way to celebrate the day. I'm not completely sure what dinner will be tonight, but it will be crazy.

The most frequent question Andrew gets about his transplant is, "Do you have to sit down now to pee now?" HAHAHA

The most frequent question I get is about his health. Anyone who knows Andrew knows that he does not talk about his own health to anyone, even his parents, so they ask me. The answer is he is good. His kidney function was stable when it was checked about 6 months ago. His new kidney does have the disease again, but that was a risk we all knew about before the transplant. He will most likely have to have a transplant again in the future, but we don't know if that will be in a year, or 30 years. We just leave it with faith in the Lord's hands and know that everything will be right. (He is going to kill me when he sees that I posted anything to do with his health, but after he made sure that my butt had a post all of it's own he has little say.)

Janine lives in Utah and her health is great. A few years after the transplant she gave birth to their daughter. She and Andrew are very close. Sometimes we laugh that Andrew has a 5th sense about her in his kidney.

We are grateful for the love, faith, and prayers of so many. We are blessed with a very supportive family. We will be always be grateful to Janine for her selfless gift of a kidney. We are happy to have good insurance that pays for most of Andrew's monthly anti-rejection drugs. I recently figured out what the monthly cost for his medication would be without insurance. $1,300. We are most grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who's eternal perspective and knowledgeable hand is in control.

National Organ Donation Awareness Month
April is national organ donation awareness month. I know that this is a decision that not many people want to think about in their lives, but it is a very selfless gift. As of today within the United States 101,727 are candidates on the waiting list for some type of organ transplant. Those waiting for kidney transplants are 79,361. If you are interested in becoming an organ donor here are the steps to do so.

1) Register with your state donor registry. Not all states have a state registry, but to find out to to this website.
http://organdonor.gov/donor/registry.shtm

2) Designate your decision on your driver’s license. Do this when you obtain or renew your license.

3) Sign a donor card now. Carry the donor card with you until you can designate your donation decision on your driver’s license or join a donor registry. (I carry my donor card right behind my drivers license.)


For any more questions and information about becoming an organ donor, or questions go to this website. http://organdonor.gov/