My sister Gemma and I - July 5, 2017
LITTLE BACKGROUND
My older sister Gemma (10 years older) was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease back in May 2011. She had been doing hemodialysis 2-3 times a week since July 2011 up until 5 weeks ago.
Just a little background for those who aren't too familiar with the illness: it basically means that her kidneys had stopped functioning. The main function of our kidneys is to remove waste and excess fluid from our blood. Once our kidneys become too damaged to do its job, then that's when hemodialysis will have to be done. Hemodialysis does pretty much what the kidneys are supposed to do, in a form of a machine. The patient would have to be hooked on to this machine for 4 hours, 2 or 3 times a week. Pretty exhausting, huh?
POSITIVE LIGHT
Not once in the past 6 years did I ever hear my sister complain about her situation. I still get emotional about this, even as I am typing this now. I probably never told her this but she is, for sure, one of my biggest inspirations. Last year, when our whole family moved back to the Philippines from Hawaii, she generously let us stay in her house for the whole year until we were able to move to our own place. She lives 1.5 hours away (which is really 2.5 hours because of the terrible traffic) from where she used to go for dialysis. Eventhough she wasnt scheduled to start dialysis untill 10am, she would leave her house and take the bus at 4am so she can get to the clinic by 7am. She uses the first 3 hours to sell local food items from Bulacan (province where she lives) to the other patients and staff at the clinic.
She would make enough money to cover her bus and cab fare plus her meals for the day because her weekly budget was barely enough to cover her medical treatment and all her medecines. But she would never complain. I told her why not look for a dialysis center close to her home so she wouldn't be as exhausted from the communte all the time. She told me that when she checked out the centers close to where she lives, they all had that depressing vibe. She liked the atmosphere and the joyful attitude of the staff and patients at the Philippine Kidney Dialysis Foundation (PKDF) in Quezon City. She'd always look for that positive light.
THE DECISION TO BECOME A DONOR
Deciding to become a kidney donor was actually easy for me. My husband's cousin donated one of her kidneys to her mother (@chinito 's aunt) and based on her experience and a few others that I met, I became more and more comfortable with my decision. My husband @chinito was actually the most supportive an encouraging and also a few of our closest relatives. I tried to tune out the skeptical and negative ones and just prayed and trusted that everything would work out for the best.
Amazingly enough, despite being overweight, my kidneys were in fact, very healthy. I was told by my doctor that each one of my kidneys were functioning just as well as 2 kidneys combined! However, during the intensive and thorough screening tests before the transplant, I found out that I am pre-diabetic, has a fatty liver, and high uric acid level. Luckily, these conditions are all reversible, provided that I lose all the extra weight! It turned out to be a blessing that I found all these health issues because I have never been more determined to lose weight than I am now. LOL (But that's a differemt story for another blog :P )
TRANSPLANT TEAM AT PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL, QUEZON CITY
My sister and I were also very lucky that we had an amazing team of doctors at Providence Hospital in Quezon City, Philippines. They probably won't even get to read this but I want to thank Dr. Dacudao – (sorry, I can't recall her first name) and Dr. Macwain Bautista – surgeons for both my sister and I, respectively. Also our wonderful, wonderful nephrologist Dr Helen Ocdol deserves a special mention. She had been the most supportive and very encouraging from the day my sister found out she had kidney problems in 2011. She's just an overall wonderful person with a huge heart! We just love her. Also another person that deserves special mention is our transplant coordinator Mr Carlo Ponce! He helped us feel very comfortable and answered all our questions during the whole transplant process.
FIVE WEEKS LATER
So it's been 5 weeks since we did the transplant. My sister who used to be on dialysis 2-3 times a week for the last 6 years or so has not seen a dialysis machine in the past 5 weeks!! Hoooray!!! Her new kidney is functioning tremendously well. She's still in a very delicate condition for the next 4 months because she is taking anti-rejection meds that leaves her with a little to non-existent immune system which is kind of worrying but on the other hand, we're also very positive and optimistic about the whole thing. She's now able to eat and drink well and not have to worry too much. For me, I'm now able to resume all my daily activities. I'm actually the most excited about being able to drive again. LOL. I'm also lucky to have my wonderful uncle George who was a huuuuge help for me, my husband and our kids while I was recovering. Thanks, uncle!
Thanks for checking out my page and I apologize for this lenghty post. LOL.
Have an excellent day and remember to always look for that positive light at the end of the dark tunnel!
Congratulations on your successful kidney transplant.
I wish you well.
Thank you for the kind support :)
You are a brave person i must admit. But there is a saying thst everything is on equal exchange. Life finds ways to reward us for our deeds :)
All the best of wishes from me and much luck and love friend 💖
thank you very much! :)
Yeah, Thank u uncle George. and i'm so proud of my wife!! :) I also agree that her sister's strength was very inspiring. wow, such strong and luving women! :P
love! love!
congrats to you both.
salamat @cryptokash
Strong and inspiring women indeed <3
This is so touching. I don't know you or your sister personally but I'm so happy to hear that your sister did not need to go through dialysis after your donated one of your kidneys. I find it very inspiring how your sister sold food items to cover for her travel expenses. Naway tuloy tuloy na ang pag galing ng iyong Ate (and you from the surgery).
Thank you so much for checking out my post and for your kind words, @dandalion! Ate is well on her way to recovery. She's actually now back to being her talkative self. LOL
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Cool (kidney) beans! LOL Thanks TP!
This is a very selfless act @jazzybels. You are an amazing person! I didn't know you were a few weeks post-op at the meetup. Eek I feel really bad again. What changes in your diet or lifestyle did you need to make after the operation?
Hi, @luvabi! No reason for you to feel bad. We really had a great time at the steemfest and it was nice to meet so many amazing people and that includes you. Changes in diet and lifestyle.. nothing drastic really and I can pretty much eat and do everything else I was doing pre surgery. If anything changed, I'm probably just more concious now about my health and trying to lose weight to stay healthy. :)
That is good, healthier lifestyle.
You're an amazing sister @jazzybells.
In like manner, i want my story when it is eventually told to inspire. Long road but be strong and always remember prayers when you are down and when she is down. Jehovah exists
Thanks soooo much @surpassinggoogle! I'm sure yours will be also. Sending you prayers and positive vibes all around.
Upvoted & RESTEEMED :]
thank you.. i appreciate it! following you now too! :)
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That is so brave for you to do. You are definitely a hero. I wish you and your sister complete recovery. :)
Thanks @st3llar! not a hero.. but that's sweet of you to say :)
Very inspiring story...
It is to remind all who think they are harming themselves by donationg kidneys-
Thank you @himal! Another reason why I wanted to do this post is to encourage those who are conflicted whether they want to be a donor or not. It is definitely a huge decision to make but the benifts outweighs the risks 100x more. I'm glad I did it.
jazzybells, You and your sister are in my prayers. Congrats on being courageous and supportive of your sister in need. Good luck to you both on your recoveries. Followed upvoted and resteemed.
Thank you so much @traderdad! Following you now also :)
This post has received a 5.56 % upvote from @minnowhelper thanks to: @eutectico. For more information, click here!
Congratulations. This post has been chosen to feature in today's Muxxybot curation post.All featured authors will receive 1 SBD for a@randowhaleon a post of their choice and will be added to@Muxxybot's Steemvoter list, getting automatic upvotes on all future posts.You are really brave and a great sister. Always great to read inspiring real life stories like this. :)
Thank you @zararina!
God Bless both of you!
thank you, @bien
first off... so you're the famous mrs @chinito :) Nice to meet you po. Second, thanks for posting this. My sister has been undergoing hemodialysis since 2008. Would you mind if I asked how much it all cost for both operations and after-surgery care?
Thanks..
Hi @cryptokash! Thanks for the message.. huh how come i didn't know of this fame!? LOL. I have to ask my sister about the cost and will DM you on discord when i find out. I know there are a lot of govt agencies that subsidize some of the expenses also. I can ask her which ones they went to. I will keep your sister in my thoughts and prayers. We know of this lady who recently underwent kidney transplant after 15 yrs of being on dialysis and it was successful.. so tell your sister to hang in there <3
yep... we do all the time. But I would want to help her if I can and money could be a challenge. We want to know what we're up for. Thanks.
Sent you DM, @cryptokash!
This is so inspiring and , hope you and your sister speedy recovery
thank you so much @livinguktaiwan!
Such a warmhearted story, I wish you guys all the best and a speedy recovery for your sister.
I'm sure a lot of people was inspired by your post and that includes me. It makes me thankful for what I have.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you so much, @rye05!
light and love to both of you 🌄
Thank you, @craftech!
As always, thanks so much for the support @steemking!