donatelife

April is "Organ Transplant Awareness Month" - #donatelife

I was staring down death recently, having waited almost 2 full years on the organ waiting list.

I was in need of a multiple-organ transplant (Liver, Stomach, Pancreas, Small Intestine, Large Intestine). . . needless to say, I was a hard match. All organs had to come from the same person, and I needed 5 good ones - that's tough!

However, even after waiting almost 2 years for these organs withOUT even a single false alarm, October 2022 was apparently "the designated time" for my match. I was only 2 months short of that full 2 year wait - and my time was dwindling. I was looking at having to go into Hospice by the end of the year.

Well, that match came and when I woke up from surgery, I felt like a different person. Yes, I was hurting from surgery - it was more than 12 hours long and it spanned over 2 days. But I almost felt better after surgery than I did going into it. . . pushing aside the pain from surgery itself, my body felt better in surgery recovery than it did going into surgery!

I have had my setbacks and had a few times where adjustments with medications, etc. needed to be made. However, overall I feel so much better! You can get a snapshot into my experience here:

iuhealth.org/thrive/she-moved-from-texas-to-be-close-to-iu-h...

#OrganTransplant

#donatelife

Safe and sound in Virginia. Now I’m hoping that I’ll be able to relax and give my joints a well needed rest!! Say prayers for my family. My cousin and my uncle are having surgery on Monday. My cousin is donating her kidney to my Uncle. She will in essence be saving her fathers life!! 🙏🏼 #donatelife #prayersformyfamily #relaxing #mentalhealthbreak #paingoaway