MikeD
Full time employment: Posting here.
My beeper went off and I was informed that I was second in line for a kidney/pancreas transplant. As it turns out, the first-in-line person had an illness and I was selected. It was a good match and as of today, I have had 22 years of trouble-free and happy life added to to my tally by my new kidney. The pancreas is a delicate organ and did not last, only got 8.5 wonderful years out of it. I signed up for a second pancreas and two years later got another that lasted approx eight years. I am now, yet again, a type 1 diabetic. I have three kidneys (2 OEM and one from a very good person) and two pancreases (1 OEM and one extra (The second) that has quit working).
I am extremely happy with my transplant and almost did not go through with it. I was suffering slightly from depression and the un-excreted poisons in my blood most certainly affected my thinking.
I am 64 yo and happily married since age 22. I turned down two offers of live kidney donation. One from my wife and one from a guy at work who I barely knew. I thanked them each for their gracious offer and explained that I did not want to impose my problem on them and wanted a 'Cadaveric' donation.
My good and best Doctor of ~20 years then told my wife that I was weeks away from death just about 10 days before my beeper went off. My transplant literally saved my life. I am very grateful to my donors and their families for their actions. I also had extremely good doctors for the most part. Two years ago I thanked them in a letter to each of them.
I was used twice by my transplant surgeon as an example of 'a happy and successful transplant patient' in his lunchtime continuing education classes. I think I help allay the same fears that I suffered through in at least two people.
I am happy by nature, happy that I am alive, and happy to have a really good partner in life. Back in the olden days when men could be men and there was little to no political correctness at my first office job in 1977, there was a manager who had a sign on his desk that expresses my opinion yet to this day: "I'm so happy I could just ****!"
Mike D.
I am extremely happy with my transplant and almost did not go through with it. I was suffering slightly from depression and the un-excreted poisons in my blood most certainly affected my thinking.
I am 64 yo and happily married since age 22. I turned down two offers of live kidney donation. One from my wife and one from a guy at work who I barely knew. I thanked them each for their gracious offer and explained that I did not want to impose my problem on them and wanted a 'Cadaveric' donation.
My good and best Doctor of ~20 years then told my wife that I was weeks away from death just about 10 days before my beeper went off. My transplant literally saved my life. I am very grateful to my donors and their families for their actions. I also had extremely good doctors for the most part. Two years ago I thanked them in a letter to each of them.
I was used twice by my transplant surgeon as an example of 'a happy and successful transplant patient' in his lunchtime continuing education classes. I think I help allay the same fears that I suffered through in at least two people.
I am happy by nature, happy that I am alive, and happy to have a really good partner in life. Back in the olden days when men could be men and there was little to no political correctness at my first office job in 1977, there was a manager who had a sign on his desk that expresses my opinion yet to this day: "I'm so happy I could just ****!"
Mike D.