Dear friends and readers,
I wondered what to title this post. My posts became especially irregular after my failing kidney transplant resulted in returning to reliance on dialysis three times a week for five hours to live. What most people don’t realize (and I understand why) is how draining (no pun intended) dialysis is and what it entails in changes to energy and diet. For example you can only have a small amount of fluids orally between each dialysis treatment.
Basically I would report to my local hospital here in Penticton and they would put two needles in my left arm.
My left arm during hemodialysis
My left arm has a fistula that allows thick needles to be inserted for about 4 hours. One needle and tube allows the blood flow into a hemodialysis machine basically a pump that assists the heart to push the blood through a filter. Over a period of four hours my blood supply would pass through the filter removing toxins and water that a healthy kidney normally would. A second tube and needle returns the blood back into the left arm. It’s a loop!
What is the new hope? April 24, about 8 weeks ago I received a new kidney transplant !! Yes and what a miracle it was to find a match. Match depend on blood type and antibodies and lots of other things that I don’t understand. My antibodies were high and there was a 99% to 1% chance for me to find a transplant match. They told me to expect to wait years and years for the remote chance.
But I was blessed, and I found a match immediately, a really excellent match. Amazing!
My transplant was aided (prompted) by the fact that a special amazing friend of mine, donated one of his kidneys to someone else who needed one in Ontario. It’s called a shared donor chain. One person or a chain of persons all donate to help someone if they donate to help someone else. I was on a chain gang !
The day before my new transplant, me and my son Dave Jr.
April 23 My family traveled with me to Vancouver, BC to Vancouver General Hospital. They do hundreds of transplants a year but the demand is high and many are still dying waiting on the list because while most people would accept an organ, most people have still not signed a consent to be a donor.
April 24, they wheeled me to the surgery room and I remember nothing more accept my donor was wheeled out of surgery just before they wheeled me in.
A little bruised on my arm from surgery needles
I was out of the hospital after only six days but continued to stay locally for six weeks of followup, bloodtests and meetings with nurses, doctors and others for six weeks.
Now the surgery did have some complications and so did the recovery but I am energized and returned home finally after six weeks post surgery followup 400 kilometers away from my Okanagan home.
New hope, no more dialysis, new energy, longer healthier life, travel, …. life! My bruises have faded, my incisions are healing and I blessed and grateful.
Thank you for sincerely for reading and your likes and/or questions or comments- I will reply to each of you who adds a comment individually. I missed everyone and it feels wonderful to be posting and sharing my news.
Welcome home Dad from my son
Life and Random Thinking 
Sending you love!💗💗💗💗
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Thank you LA, you made my smile brighter!
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Wow, this is fabulous news. Sending you lots of good healing. What an amazing gift!
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What wonderful news! I wish you many, many years of good health & the hope that it reminds people how very important it is to register as a donor. I would strongly urge you to register & equally as important to discuss your wishes with your family members.
For those of you living in Ontario, you can become a donor here:
https://www.beadonor.ca/
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Organ donation are now matched across provinces and lives are being saved. More than half are living donors who carefully screened to ensure that they can have a healthy life after donating. They are VIPs who go to the absolute head of the line if they ever have a kidney problem.. hugs Lynn 🤗🤗🤗
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So lovely to read this Dave, you are an inspiration to us all and it’s amazing to hear all that you have been through and how strong you are xxx lots of love to you always from all of us across the pond xxxx
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Thank you Julie, Mark and gang! I am blessed by the support and kind prayers of family like you.
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Awesome !!
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Thank you Bob, it totally is! 🤗🤗🤗
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WOW!!! That’s great! Looking forward to hearing more about your recovery.
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This is wonderful news. I had not heard of a shared donor chain, but what a brilliant thing to do.
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I am feeling so much better, and looked forward to reconnecting with my wonderful blogging friends. Thanks for your kind message
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Thanks for sharing Dave. So happy for you and your wonderful
Family 💕.
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Thank you so much for commenting and i was pumped to share my good news. I am grateful but also acutely aware of my fellow dialysis patients who are hopeful and waiting for a chance. Some of them not strong enough to a transplant candidate.. i am very fortunate..
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Excellent news Dave! Been waiting to hear how things went. So happy for you and your family and so impressed with the donor chain. Here’s to continued health and a happy, long life.
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You’re so positive and encouraging. I appreciate YOU! I am counting my blessings daily🤠🌻
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Awesome
Good things happen to good people.
Take care much older cousin.
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Much older cousin 🤗 ? I am just 39 and in denial. Thank you Greg!
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That is amazing news. You are truly an inspiration😊
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Thank you Bel. I love inspiring stories and my story is really a reflection of the kind people in my life like family and friends and bloggers like you.🤗
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Iâm so happy to hear this and that you are doing well, may you keep it as long as the last one. Bob
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Hi Bob. That would make an old man for sure! Great to hear from you! I trust you are enjoying your retirement in good health.
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muchos gracias senor Bob!!
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I wish you the very best of continuing good health.
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Healthy, or wealthy? I would choose healthy every day. I have missed reading your posts but feeling better now i will again be a faithful reader. Thank you for your kind message
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Definitely healthy Doug. I have been trying to write a post about my recent ill health – thus the absence of posts. Will keep trying and so glad to hear of your good news.
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Thank you, i know you understand health issues. -David
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Yes! So thankful you have come through this experience a winner!!!
May your body get stronger daily and you continue to enjoy life to the fullest with your lovely family.
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Thank you Melanie! You’re a kind lady and a sincere friend.
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Great story Dave thanks for sharing.
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I am grateful you commented. Have you read any of my other posts?
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Modern medicine is amazing! I’m so happy for you and your new hope, health, and energy!
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Quite a story, glad it has a happy emding!
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So far over 40 years in my kidney story, and that is the latest chapter, which I am so grateful to have, a miracle really. The story continues again as a transplant recipient, I have to take of my gift, and continue to share what’s possible to save lives.
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