Worth it in the end…..
My story began almost 20 years ago when I promised my best-friend that I would donate my kidney to her should she ever need one after her father passed away of polycystic kidney disease because, she too, suffered from the same disease. I never dreamed that I God would have it in His plan for me to actually be her donor. On September 20, 2007, I donated my kidney to my best-friend. After doing so, I was never the same.
It started out with severe muscular problems. I had pain all over my body. A year following the surgery, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. In December 2008, I began vomiting and could not eat. April of 2009 was my first hospitalization after not eating for over 20 days. After numerous test, scopes and more hospitalizations, I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis.
I have tried all forms of treatment from medications, Botox treatments, acupuncture and nothing has worked. I currently have a G/J tube for feedings and drainage. I have been told that I am not a candidate for the gastric pacer.
In February of 2009 my friend went into rejection of my kidney. She fought so hard to keep my kidney but had to have it removed a year later. Sadly, she passed away this past November of complications of her kidney disease. She called me her hero, but she was the real fighter and the real hero. I have never seen someone fight for their life as much as she did. I miss her terribly but I know I have an angel in Heaven watching over me.
I am so grateful to have the most wonderful support system in my husband, my parents and my friends. My husband has taken such good care of me. My parents are here whenever I have needed them and my friends have rallied around me to provide meals, take me to doctor appointments, sit with me in the hospital, and even clean my house! Without any of these people, I wouldn’t be handling this disease nearly as well. That I know for sure.
