Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Love You Mom!
Well today – January 11th, is the 24 year anniversary of my mother’s death. It’s something that I guess I will never fully get over. My mother was one of the nicest people you could have met. She was kind to everyone.
My mother died at the age of 49 – due to breast cancer that metastasized to her brain. The fought a hard battle and went to Wilford Hall several times for radiation treatments. Had chemotherapy treatments and other treatments at the local hospital too.
She passed away on a Sunday. I still remember that day vividly. My dad and I went to Sunday School and then skipped church to go to the hospital to see mom and help her eat lunch. She needed help to eat in the final weeks of her life. After we helped her eat, we went to Hardee's and the plan was to stop by the hospital again before going to Lawton to go shopping for some shoes for me. We went back to the hospital to find out that she had passed on while we were away. The whole experience of seeing my dad break down crying and seeing her in the hospital bed like she was sleeping but knowing she was gone is something I will never forget.
I miss being able to talk to her and her support. Even today it is very hard. My mother never judged people and was nice to everyone. She was truly a great person and was taken away way too soon.
I love you mom!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Phone Call Changes Everything
Some of my posts have been on the humorous side. Today's post is a more serious topic. It all started back in the spring of 2010. I am at church and looking at the prayer list requests. I see a woman's name in need of a kidney transplant. I pray and talk with God about her. I don't know her, but I keep her in the back of my mind. A few weeks go by and there is news that her sister will be a donor. The family is very excited and the surgery date is set for the summer. The day before the surgery, the medical team learns that her sister can't donate her kidney. She has a rare problem with her kidney. She is off the eligible donor list. The family is heartbroken.
I need to share that I am essentially an orphan. My mother passed away from cancer. She was 49 years old. I was thirteen at the time. My father passed away when he was 70. I was 27 years old at the time. I have a son who will be three years old in February. I feel that if there is something I can do to help another family have the opportunity of more years together, then I will do my best to do that. I have done a lot of research into living kidney donors. They live regular lives after donating and the gift of life is comparable to giving birth.
A couple more weeks go by and the family includes more information on their daughter needing a kidney transplant. They include her blood type (A Positive) in the information. That Sunday I'm looking at the bulletin and reading through it and stop at the words "A Positive". That's my blood type. It feels like flashing lights to me. I can feel an urgency to look into this. That afternoon I do some searching on the Internet. I wait a week and talk with my husband about it. I decide to call the church to get more information, hoping they can point me in the right direction. The person on the line gives my contact information to the woman in need of the kidney transplant. She later calls me and gives me the information of a hospital in Denver, Colorado. I wait another day and call the number of the hospital in Denver, Colorado. They take some basic information from me and send me paperwork to fill out.
When I receive the paperwork I see there is a lot of tests that need to be done. The recipient's insurance pays for that. Trying to talk to Tricare (my insurance company) about that was not fun at all. I decide to go to the hospital in Denver to do the testing. On that first day they did a cross-match and before I went home that day, they told me that the cross-match is good.
A few months go by and there are more tests more trips to Denver and more pokes... Then just after new year's on January 3, 2011, I get the call that I have been approved to be an organ donor. It is unbelievable.
Not sure on when it will take place, but will keep posting on here as I know more information.
I need to share that I am essentially an orphan. My mother passed away from cancer. She was 49 years old. I was thirteen at the time. My father passed away when he was 70. I was 27 years old at the time. I have a son who will be three years old in February. I feel that if there is something I can do to help another family have the opportunity of more years together, then I will do my best to do that. I have done a lot of research into living kidney donors. They live regular lives after donating and the gift of life is comparable to giving birth.
A couple more weeks go by and the family includes more information on their daughter needing a kidney transplant. They include her blood type (A Positive) in the information. That Sunday I'm looking at the bulletin and reading through it and stop at the words "A Positive". That's my blood type. It feels like flashing lights to me. I can feel an urgency to look into this. That afternoon I do some searching on the Internet. I wait a week and talk with my husband about it. I decide to call the church to get more information, hoping they can point me in the right direction. The person on the line gives my contact information to the woman in need of the kidney transplant. She later calls me and gives me the information of a hospital in Denver, Colorado. I wait another day and call the number of the hospital in Denver, Colorado. They take some basic information from me and send me paperwork to fill out.
When I receive the paperwork I see there is a lot of tests that need to be done. The recipient's insurance pays for that. Trying to talk to Tricare (my insurance company) about that was not fun at all. I decide to go to the hospital in Denver to do the testing. On that first day they did a cross-match and before I went home that day, they told me that the cross-match is good.
A few months go by and there are more tests more trips to Denver and more pokes... Then just after new year's on January 3, 2011, I get the call that I have been approved to be an organ donor. It is unbelievable.
Not sure on when it will take place, but will keep posting on here as I know more information.
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