Yes, there is life after transplant

by Amy Walters

Although I have been diabetic since the age of six, I was never informed of
the possible complications of diabetes. I was diagnosed with diabetic
retinopathy and glaucoma when I was 21. Doctors told me then that I would
never lose my sight completely. Much to their shock, and mine, I lost all my
sight.
Another ramification of diabetes, of which I had no inkling, was renal
failure. When my creatinine level began increasing in 1989, the subjects of
dialysis and transplantation were discussed. At that time anti-hypertensive
medication was prescribed and I was told to follow a low-protein diet. Even
though the advice bought a little time, I knew from the elevating numbers on
lab results that decisions would soon have to be made regarding available
options.
The idea of having a kidney transplant sounded ghoulish, like a modern-day
Frankenstein. I did not particularly relish the thought of having a stranger's
body part in me. I even considered not having anything done at all and just
live with what time I had remaining without high-tech medical miracles being
performed on me.
Up to this point, I had been feeling well. However, a bout with the flu caused
dehydration so I was hospitalized. It had sapped my energy and left me feeling
as though I could sleep all day. Also, my creatinine level skyrocketed to the
point where it became time for a graft. Because my veins weren't that good, an
A-V graft (a piece of plastic tubing inserted beneath the skin on the inside
of the forearm) would enable me to undergo dialysis. When I realized life was
slipping away, it became more precious to me. I wanted to go on living. Yet, I
wondered what life would be like after dialysis, transplantation, and whatever
else would happen to me. Would I become an invalid so bothered by side effects
of those powerful anti-rejection drugs that my life would be, in effect, no
life at all?
Fortunately, I retained some kidney function, so dialysis turned out not to be
that bad despite the stories I had heard. For five months prior to the
operation, I went twice a week for two and a half hours at a stretch. Once
dialysis began, I was amazed at the amount of energy I had. Dialysis is not
something I would choose to continue for the rest of my life, but it helped me
over the hump.
Initially, a friend was going to give me one of her kidneys, but a better
match was found November 16, 1989. I'll never forget the date nor that call.
Once I reached the hospital, I learned I had almost a perfect match. The only
way it could have been closer was if the kidney had come from an identical
twin.
Perhaps it was the closeness of the match or the experimental drug I was
taking to offset the need for a high dosage of Cyclosporine that prevented me
from having any trouble with rejection. Even now, I take minimal amounts of
Cyclosporine, along with two other immuno-suppressive medications  a drug for
high blood pressure and, of course, insulin.
Things certainly have been good since surgery. I feel I have been given a
whole new lease on life. Instead of associating the transplanted kidney with a
monster in some movie, I look at it now as a special gift from a very generous
person who thought of someone else in a time of grief, and, I'm not a
dependent, sickly invalid.
Approximately five months after receiving my new kidney, I returned to New
Jersey to obtain another Seeing Eye dog. The funny part about that was when I
received my first dog, I'd had an appendectomy only two months before. I had
to show the on-duty nurse my scar in order for her to believe that I was ready
for training so soon after surgery. Would you believe the same nurse was still
there? Was she ever surprised to see my latest scar acquisition! That odd
coincidence is only part of my good news. For over a year now I've been
working for the Social Security Administration, and last April I moved into my
very own apartment. It was a big step for me because I've always lived with
someone else  my parents, roommates, my former husband. Now, I have my own
space in my own apartment.
Life truly is a gift which one should make the most of each day. Life is also
something to be shared, as is done by the people who say "yes" to organ
donation. Without that special person's thoughtfulness, who knows where I'd be
today? I'm very thankful I'm still around!n
