How I Became a Kidney Donor - Part 1

I didn't want to write daily this week even though I could have because I was overly emotional and I didn't want that to come out in my writing. It really started two weeks ago with a stressful week and we weren't able to get the surgery date scheduled how we wanted it. Every day was a ticking time bomb as James was getting worse every day. The stress of it all finally caught up to him by Sunday morning the 19th. He woke up and was unable to breath, even with his oxygen.

It is what we have all been worried about because since he has no kidneys, every drop he drinks has no where to go and it just builds up inside of him. Eventually that fluid will end up in his lungs and heart. Dialysis is supposed to take that out, but if it doesn't, it can be very dangerous. On the other hand, if he doesn't drink enough, he passes out during dialysis. He was admitted right away once we finally got to the hospital and he was put straight up to dialysis for an extra treatment. His blood pressure was also a problem because it had risen again and was uncontrolled. They gave him new medication, but he doesn't feel like it is working even now.

With James under the hospital's care and me being away from all the family influences around, I was finally able to take a good look at where we were in regards to the transplant and family affairs. On Sunday night I had to make a decision and I believe it has been the right one for everyone. I decided that I needed to step up and be the kidney donor for James. It actually isn't a decision I struggled with because neither of us were going to make it much longer and I knew that there was no one else in this world capable of fighting for him like I knew I could.

It was a shock to everyone on both sides of the family. My dad wasn't happy when I told him, but he has since come around. Everyone has come around, actually, and that is really only because it has worked out so well and that everything has fallen into place.