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~DONATE LIFE~
ABOUT ME
About:
Click here to read story. I am O+!! I made this page so people can know more about me and about my life and in hopes that it can help me find someone willing to give life! I do enjoy life the best I can, I just want to enjoy life better and longer!
Mission:
To find a kidney donor! I am O+ blood type! Please Help! Looking for an O donor.
Description:
Hi...I am Cindy and this is the start of my page. February 22, 2012! I am 42 years old and I made this page in hopes that it can help me find a kidney donor. This may seem crazy but if you were in my position (and I am happy that you are not) you would be sitting here creating a page too.
A little about me: I am Cindy. I am 42 years old. I live in a quaint little town in NH in the middle ...of nowhere and I love it here. I have one son, Corey who will be 19 in March, my hubby Shaun of 19 years, almost 20 and 2 dogs, Hunter and Buddy. I met my husband Sept. 17, 1989. We were married on Aug. 23, 1992 and had our son on March 24, 1993. I became pregnant at the age of 23 and during one of my regular visits and during an ultrasound, the tech softly said under her breath "what's that?" That....ended up being PKD! Polycystic Kidney Disease on both kidneys. It's no wonder I always felt like poop growing up. Anyhow...thank goodness my Corey came with no troubles (he will be 19 in March) but he would be the only child I would have. I was Ok for a while. I would go through stages of gout and just a general ill feeling, always tired. My cysts would rupture often which was very painful for me. When Corey was about 9, it got to the point where I needed a transplant. My wonderful family jumped right in (my sister, brother-in-law and nephew) all got tested they were all O+ which is what I needed. It turned out my sister was the best match for me and without a second thought, she stepped in, gave me her kidney and saved my life! I can't even begin to sit here and tell you how much I love my sister...that goes without saying! She is my angel! So on November 13 of 2002...I had a nephrectomy of my right kidney (kidney removal) it has grown so large it was time for it to be removed. Then on December 11, 2002 I got my sisters kidney. As soon as I woke from the surgery in the recovery room, I sat straight up. I felt so good, that fast. I was asking for a pen and paper to write a note to my son and was asking for my sister. I was walking around that day and we were released 3 days later. Miracle. I felt fantastic.
I started having a few issues right from the start. My sisters ureter was different from my own and narrow, so that caused some troubles. I had fluid building outside around the kidney. After over 20 special procedures and other tests, I had a stent put in the ureter, a billion biopsies etc., they finally got things figured out. It was said I also had reflux going on. My creatinine rose slightly from that episode.
Years passed and my creatinine has SLOWLY risen between then and now. I have had many tests, ultrasounds etc. and it just cannot be explained. On October 1, 2009 I had my other kidney removed because that was also causing problems and since it wasn't working anyways, there was no reason for it to be in there. My creatinine now fluctuates between 3.8 and 4.3, which is odd, but not good! I am now considered as being in Chronic Kidney failure Stage V. With this, I feel tired and out of breath a lot. Currently, my hemoglobin is at 9. Last week it was 8. I go for regular shots of Arenesp which boosts my red blood cells and puts oxygen back into my blood so I feel better and it brings my hemoglobin back up to 12 where it should be. When it is so low, I am so tired, out of breath, sort of like I am on a constant sleeping pill. When I walk, even a few steps or up stairs, my heart pounds and I get short of breath. It really stinks. I am getting 300 mg of arenesp every week now and it is working. Thank goodness!
Another thing you should know about me: Being down is not me! I cannot stand feeling this way, I like being out and about. Usually, I can not sit still! I love walking, hiking, gardening, playing with the dogs, being with friends and family etc. but sometimes when I feel so bad I can't do anything. I am useless. I just want to feel good again. I don't want to rely on these shots to keep me going, and I certainly don't want dialysis keeping me alive! I don't want to drive to Lahey Clinic constantly, I just want to enjoy life, and even work an actual full time job without this illness and constant Dr. visits getting in the way. I want to be healthy and be here when my son marries someday and has children. I do not want to miss that. I love my Son so much!!! I made this page because I had a visit yesterday at Lahey and again got scared with that DIALYSIS word and that really scares me to death. I am on the doorstep. I am scared! Being in my condition, I don't know how well dialysis will work for me. It's funny. People look at me and do not know I am sick and I am glad I do not look deathly...ha ha. I am here to tell you that I am sick...very sick, on the inside.
Now you know a little about me. I will continue to add to this page as days go on. I hope and pray this gets me a step closer to finding a kidney or getting help spreading the word that I need one. I am O+ and need an O kidney. There is also a program called the kidney exchange program. Anyone can be involved in the program. Read below how it works. I have a contact number for people to call if they want to be tested...with or without me knowing and for anyone who wants more information. There is a way I can also receive from anyone who is A but it's a 5% - 10% chance they will be the A2 type. For questions about anything please call the number below.
A little about me: I am Cindy. I am 42 years old. I live in a quaint little town in NH in the middle ...of nowhere and I love it here. I have one son, Corey who will be 19 in March, my hubby Shaun of 19 years, almost 20 and 2 dogs, Hunter and Buddy. I met my husband Sept. 17, 1989. We were married on Aug. 23, 1992 and had our son on March 24, 1993. I became pregnant at the age of 23 and during one of my regular visits and during an ultrasound, the tech softly said under her breath "what's that?" That....ended up being PKD! Polycystic Kidney Disease on both kidneys. It's no wonder I always felt like poop growing up. Anyhow...thank goodness my Corey came with no troubles (he will be 19 in March) but he would be the only child I would have. I was Ok for a while. I would go through stages of gout and just a general ill feeling, always tired. My cysts would rupture often which was very painful for me. When Corey was about 9, it got to the point where I needed a transplant. My wonderful family jumped right in (my sister, brother-in-law and nephew) all got tested they were all O+ which is what I needed. It turned out my sister was the best match for me and without a second thought, she stepped in, gave me her kidney and saved my life! I can't even begin to sit here and tell you how much I love my sister...that goes without saying! She is my angel! So on November 13 of 2002...I had a nephrectomy of my right kidney (kidney removal) it has grown so large it was time for it to be removed. Then on December 11, 2002 I got my sisters kidney. As soon as I woke from the surgery in the recovery room, I sat straight up. I felt so good, that fast. I was asking for a pen and paper to write a note to my son and was asking for my sister. I was walking around that day and we were released 3 days later. Miracle. I felt fantastic.
I started having a few issues right from the start. My sisters ureter was different from my own and narrow, so that caused some troubles. I had fluid building outside around the kidney. After over 20 special procedures and other tests, I had a stent put in the ureter, a billion biopsies etc., they finally got things figured out. It was said I also had reflux going on. My creatinine rose slightly from that episode.
Years passed and my creatinine has SLOWLY risen between then and now. I have had many tests, ultrasounds etc. and it just cannot be explained. On October 1, 2009 I had my other kidney removed because that was also causing problems and since it wasn't working anyways, there was no reason for it to be in there. My creatinine now fluctuates between 3.8 and 4.3, which is odd, but not good! I am now considered as being in Chronic Kidney failure Stage V. With this, I feel tired and out of breath a lot. Currently, my hemoglobin is at 9. Last week it was 8. I go for regular shots of Arenesp which boosts my red blood cells and puts oxygen back into my blood so I feel better and it brings my hemoglobin back up to 12 where it should be. When it is so low, I am so tired, out of breath, sort of like I am on a constant sleeping pill. When I walk, even a few steps or up stairs, my heart pounds and I get short of breath. It really stinks. I am getting 300 mg of arenesp every week now and it is working. Thank goodness!
Another thing you should know about me: Being down is not me! I cannot stand feeling this way, I like being out and about. Usually, I can not sit still! I love walking, hiking, gardening, playing with the dogs, being with friends and family etc. but sometimes when I feel so bad I can't do anything. I am useless. I just want to feel good again. I don't want to rely on these shots to keep me going, and I certainly don't want dialysis keeping me alive! I don't want to drive to Lahey Clinic constantly, I just want to enjoy life, and even work an actual full time job without this illness and constant Dr. visits getting in the way. I want to be healthy and be here when my son marries someday and has children. I do not want to miss that. I love my Son so much!!! I made this page because I had a visit yesterday at Lahey and again got scared with that DIALYSIS word and that really scares me to death. I am on the doorstep. I am scared! Being in my condition, I don't know how well dialysis will work for me. It's funny. People look at me and do not know I am sick and I am glad I do not look deathly...ha ha. I am here to tell you that I am sick...very sick, on the inside.
Now you know a little about me. I will continue to add to this page as days go on. I hope and pray this gets me a step closer to finding a kidney or getting help spreading the word that I need one. I am O+ and need an O kidney. There is also a program called the kidney exchange program. Anyone can be involved in the program. Read below how it works. I have a contact number for people to call if they want to be tested...with or without me knowing and for anyone who wants more information. There is a way I can also receive from anyone who is A but it's a 5% - 10% chance they will be the A2 type. For questions about anything please call the number below.
*****For questions or to be TESTED TO DONATE contact: Denise Morin 1-781-744-2500 or Denise.S.Morin@lahey.org or you can ask me anything.*****
Or please go to this link and fill out the online health history questionnaire and Denise will contact you. Put my name in as the recipient. :) http://www.lahey-livingdonor.org/
Thank You! I apologize. I am not facebooking my problems, I am using it as a source to spread the word. This the best way of reaching out to all of my family and friends and strangers, I think!!! I am not looking for sympathy, I am looking for help. I see no better way. Please help. Donate life or spread the word. ♥
Cindy :)
Update: It is now January 10th 2013...just a few days away from my 43rd Birthday....OLD!! Hanging in there although tired most days. Still getting shots for my energy. Creatinine was at 5 my last visit. Managing other issues happening with the kidney failure with meds. Keeping my chin up....and I wait. :)
***I wanted to share a link that is new to Lahey Clinic for anyone who is interested in being a living donor. It is called Breeze Transplant!! It is an online donor self-referral program. Here you will fill out a health history questionnaire to start evaluation. Thank you for reading. Here is the link. http://www.lahey-livingdonor.org/ ♥ Cindy ****
Or please go to this link and fill out the online health history questionnaire and Denise will contact you. Put my name in as the recipient. :) http://www.lahey-livingdonor.org/
Thank You! I apologize. I am not facebooking my problems, I am using it as a source to spread the word. This the best way of reaching out to all of my family and friends and strangers, I think!!! I am not looking for sympathy, I am looking for help. I see no better way. Please help. Donate life or spread the word. ♥
Cindy :)
Update: It is now January 10th 2013...just a few days away from my 43rd Birthday....OLD!! Hanging in there although tired most days. Still getting shots for my energy. Creatinine was at 5 my last visit. Managing other issues happening with the kidney failure with meds. Keeping my chin up....and I wait. :)
***I wanted to share a link that is new to Lahey Clinic for anyone who is interested in being a living donor. It is called Breeze Transplant!! It is an online donor self-referral program. Here you will fill out a health history questionnaire to start evaluation. Thank you for reading. Here is the link. http://www.lahey-livingdonor.org/ ♥ Cindy ****
Please also visit my facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Donate-Life/237478266346107
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