Step 4: Final Testing and Recovery Info

August 23rd, 2017: Final Day of Testing!

This appointment is scheduled for 4 hours up at the University of Utah hospital in the Kidney and Liver Clinic. You need to have come fasting.

1. EKG: Lay on a table and have a bunch of cords stuck all over you (chest, wrists, ankles, stomach) for a few minutes. 

2. Chest X-Ray: This took all of 10 seconds. 

3. CT Scan: The CT scan is why you need to come fasting. You lay down on this table that moves you in and out of this donut shaped machine a few times. You are asked to take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds. Then through an IV they put this iodine through your veins that allow them to see your kidneys. THIS WAS THE WEIRD THING EVER. They fore-warned me what it would be like. Once they start the IV of Iodine it starts getting warm. For me, it started in my head and this warming sensation came over my body and worked it's way down my body. And then it feels like you are peeing your pants. I was so convinced I had peed my pants. It was the strangest thing. They tell you to drink a lot of water the rest of the day to flush this out of your system. DRINK A LOT OF WATER. This kinda messed with my system for the rest of the day and upset my stomach. I should have probably drank more water to flush it out. 

4. More Blood Work: Well because, why not! This time they were testing for

• Hepatitis panel, acute
• Quantiferon - TB gold
• Cytomegalovirus Antibody Test
• EBV AB to viral capsid AG, IGG
• Varicella-zoster virus AB, IGG
• Rapid plasma reagin with reflex 
• ABO-RH type automated

5. Meet the Team: I met with the dietitian, nephrologist, social worker, donor coordinator and my surgeon. Each one told me their part in the process and asked if I had any questions. 

When I met with my surgeon he told me that with my CT scan he was able to get a good look at both my kidneys, their position and anatomy to see which one to take for donation. Typically they like to take the left kidney. My right kidney is not able to donate because I have an artery that immediately trifucates (splits into 3) which is normal and fine (some don't split, some split into two and rarely 3) but in regards to donating they are not able to use one that trifucates. My left kidney also trifucates but there is enough of the artery to cut before it trifucates that they will be able to use. 

My surgery will take about 4 hours, with an expected hospital stay of 2-4 days. I will have a large incision across my stomach that they will internally stitch and then glue together with purple glue. He promised me it was medical grade glue :) And then two small incisions. I will not be able to lift anything more than 10lbs for 8 weeks, to eliminate the risk of developing a hernia. My surgeon is confident that I will have a quicker than normal recovery because I am so young, healthy and extremely active. He is thinking I will be feeling pretty dang good around 2 weeks. Walking will help me heal faster.

My name and file was taken the next day to the team for consideration of donation.