This week marks a new beginning in our family journey. A few months ago, I shared a post from Hubby regarding his family’s struggles with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and specifically how it has affected his dad, my children’s grandpa.
Well, I’m happy to report that yesterday, Grandpa received his new kidney. Surgery went well and the new kidney is already working and he is now resting and recovering.
I could go on and on about how grateful and relieved we are that Grandpa is finally on the road to feeling better, but that sentiment, I hope, speaks for itself. Instead, I would like to take the time to acknowledge someone else who is also recovering: his donor.
Many people with PKD spend years waiting for a donor kidney as they get sicker and sicker. We experienced this with both hubby’s Grammy and his Uncle. Grammy, unfortunately, was too weak to undergo a transplant so lived out her last years with multiple dialysis visits a week. And his uncle lived with decreasing kidney function until both his kidneys were removed and he, too, was on dialysis until a deceased donor was available (and we are so happy that one was found!)
But my father-in-law didn’t want to go through all that, he didn’t want to wait until his health was so bad that he could get on the list. Until he had been on the list long enough to be eligible for a kidney. Until a matching deceased donor kidney was available.
So he and my mother-in-law took to seeking a live donor. They requested people be tested as a match and many, many people did! But matches are hard to make and many people were not eligible to donate due to other health issues.
But by some miracle, a match was found, a former co-worker of my mother-in-law. And not only was she a match, she was willing to donate.
I can not stress enough the importance of that last statement: This woman was willing to give one of her healthy kidneys to another. She was willing to undergo major surgery for the benefit of another. This woman literally risked her life so that my children’s Grandpa could enjoy the rest of his.
Her selflessness is unimaginable. Her generosity, unrepayable. Her bravery, unfathomable.
And all I can think to say to her is: Thank you. Thank you for giving my father-in-law a bright, healthy future. Thank you for providing my children with years and years more of fun times with their Grandpa who will now fell well enough to tromp through the woods, go on adventures, and be there as they grow, reaching new milestones and sharing their big life moments. Thank you for ensuring he gets to enjoy his last grandbaby as much as he has his first, second and third. And thank you for saving my husband’s father from years of discomfort, exhaustion, dialysis and who knows what else.
Simply, Thank You. You are a remarkable woman and I wish you much happiness and joy in your years to come, you will always be a valued and much loved member of this family and words or actions will never be able to express how thankful we are to you.
