Pop has been on a list for a kidney transplant since May. The original plan was that Nana would donate one of hers. He refused to accept anything from us 'kids,' but Megan and Patrick went to get checked anyway (Patrick got pretty far in the process. He kept it under wraps as long as he could!).
The kidney has been an issue since Pop was in high school. He didn't wrestle his Junior year when he was diagnosed with IGA Nephritis. He's managed it longer than I've been alive, so it was easy to forget he even had it (maybe not for him, though!).
Pop's written quite a bit on the subject, so I thought I'd log some of it here for Shane or any other family members to read. This is something of a saga, so there will be more posted later on his recovery process.
Tuesday, April 26th
Debbie is not able to donate a kidney. They said her current egfr level is 72% and they want 80% minimum. Her results were just a little bit higher a year+ ago when she was approved at Emory. So Emory may have a slightly lower standard? We could potentially go back to Emory and get her reapproved there but we don't want to do that. We will just continue with the people here in Greenville. The bad news is that we lose a little bit of control over when we schedule the transplant since I will now go active on a deceased donor list. The good news is that Debbie will be able to be my caregiver during recovery since she won't be recovering from her own surgery. I have about 7 years of wait time on the transplant list and have received several deceased donor offers in the last several months but we told them we wouldn't chase that option until we knew if Debbie could donate or not. Well, now we know. I have asked the transplant people whether I should get a 2nd covid booster or not and if I do, how long do we wait to go on the active offer list. Once we know the answers to that, we will get the process started. That means we could get a call anytime day or night and have to head to the hospital. I don't have any immediate kidney failure issues and do not yet need dialysis. That allows the transplant people to be a little selective for what they offer me. There are a lot of factors involved (age, size, health of the donor, distance the kidney is away from our hospital, blood sample issues on how compatible I am with the donor, etc.). Since I am A blood type, anyone with A or O can be a donor for me. Those are the two most common types of blood. My guess is the transplant will happen within 2 months but stay tuned. We will keep you posted. Several of the kids have offered to donate me a kidney. Deceased donor outcomes are not quite as good as living donor ones but they are still good so we will take that as the easier path. Hopefully, I can be one and done (ie. one transplant will work and get me to the end of life some years from now). Regardless of how it all goes, I know where I am going next (I am totally bought into being a Christ follower and look forward to hanging out with brother Matt and my parents in Heaven when I get there). This kidney issue has been a lifelong thing for me. It doesn't worry me and I am very thankful I was able to make it all the way to 67+ before needing to do this. Love Tim
Saturday, June 4th
Well, I got a call at 5:30 pm asking if I wanted to get a kidney transplant tonight. I am number 3 on the list and I said yes. They will ask the first two and do some work checking out the kidney (biopsy) and then let me know. The kidney is supposed to be checked out at 7 pm and the transplant surgery is scheduled for 10 pm if everything is a go (ie. if the kidney is ok and I am going to be the recipient). I don't know if there are two kidney transplants tonight (ie. did the donor have 2 kidneys to donate and did they both come here) or just one. This day has been a long time coming but Debbie and I don't have any big worries. The odds are heavily in favor of this working and shouldn't be life threatening. But you never know and if things go south badly, I know I am going to heaven next and it will be ok. The hard work would then be left to Debbie, just like it is for Mary right now. Say a little prayer that things go well. If it doesn't happen tonight, I will send out an email later. If it does happen tonight, Debbie will send out some kind of text tomorrow morning and let you know how it went. I think the surgery would be about 4 hours followed by a week in the hospital (with a catheter! - lucky me). If things do go south, get Jesus on your side and I will see you in heaven someday plus pray for Debbie. Love Tim
Friday, July 29th
Well, I am up again. They called me at 1 pm and said I am #1 for a kidney available later today or tomorrow. They have to test it and make sure it is ok and then will let me know when to show up. The last time they did this was June 4th, I was #3, and that kidney ended up with some sort of congenital defect and it wasn't transplanted. My prayer is that if this is the right kidney for me, God let's the process move forward successfully. If it happens, I will be in the hospital for about 5 days. Patrick, Shelby and Nathan are supposed to visit us in Greenville next week but we may be at the hospital and not home! And Kathleen plus kids is on her way to Ghana Africa tonight to visit Megan for a week. Debbie or I will let you know how this develops later today or tomorrow. Love Tim
Thursday, October 14th
The transplant people called again yesterday. They had another good kidney. I started out #4 on the list but had moved up for some reason (people ahead of me were ill or their antigen tests didn't match the kidney available or something else?). They won't tell you any details. They called at 1 pm to make sure I was available. Then they called at 8 pm and said the kidney was being harvested. I think I was the #1 candidate - they told me don't eat any more, have a go bag ready, etc. Then they called at 12:40 am and said they decided there was something not good enough with the kidney and they wouldn't transplant. That's the third time in several weeks we went on high alert. I think opportunities will keep coming up on a regular basis until we get the right one. Thanks for praying for mom and I. We will keep you posted. Love Dad / Tim
Saturday, Nov 5th (An excerpt from a much longer correspondence between Pop and his friend, XB)
You know, the kidney thing doesn't really stress me out. It has been a lifelong concern and I know that if something doesn't work right, it just means I end up in heaven sooner. So it seems like a win - win thing for me. Debbie is the one who is likely to live longer and then must deal with losing me. That will be a big thing since we are such best friends. But I know that our extended family and her faith will get her through it if that is the way it turns out. One of the things I pray for is that the kidney transplant is successful and that I can then live longer than Debbie so I am the one left alone someday. I know I could handle it better than her.
Sunday, Nov 6th (The time he got the kidney!)
Ok. Here we go again. This is the 4th time I have said yes to a transplant but this time I waited to tell you about it until they want me to come to the hospital. I am leaving to head to the hospital in the next 30 minutes or so to get a better kidney. Debbie will let you know later how it goes. If it happens, we will waive Jama and Ed's visit off for now and reschedule next spring I think. Thanks for your prayers. Love Tim
Monday, Nov 7th (Nana writing. She sent a quick email out at 7:59 AM saying "It went well!" This one came later on.)
Tim is so strong! He's doing better than expected. He'll probably be discharged on Friday. Yay! He can walk the hallway tomorrow. Today, the nurse let him walk to a chair in the room to eat a clear broth dinner. He isn't in pain and has no nausea. His blood pressure has been high today but we expect it to be better tomorrow.
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