New Transplant Blog Posts

Hi everyone,
Our blog post today would be a great addition to the toolkit for someone who is just beginning this process of listing and transplantation. Today we are talking about getting listed for transplant - a process that sometimes seems like it should be simple, but comes with a fair amount of detail. Feel free to share this post with anyone you know who might be beginning their journey. We would love feedback from anyone who has already been on that waiting list too. Was the process easy for you?
http://mayocl.in/2uueTB2

Good morning everyone!
Today's blog post "Post-Transplant Mental Health & Well-being: Q&A with Shelia Jowsey-Gregoire, M.D." is important for post-transplant patients to help them be prepared for the stress and events that happen after transplant. Did you feel emotionally prepared for your transplant recovery and life after surgery? Learn more from Dr. Jowsey-Gregoire about this topic on the blog today! Have a wonderful week ahead!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/post-transplant-mental-health-well-being-qa-with-shelia-jowsey-gregoire-m-d/
- Kristin

Thank you, for alerting us to this recent blog post!

I know how easy it is to feel alone after transplant, because our friends and family, support network, are unfamiliar with the emotional roller-coaster ride that we experience.

I encourage all of our transplant readers to check out this blog. Rosemary

@rosemarya I guess I am just a different type or something because I really felt good after transplant except for the times when I thought of the grief the donor family must be enduring. These were not overwhelming thoughts though.
For me, I think the best thing was getting back to being active which I did as soon as I was given the green light. When you are active you cannot dwell on things or feel miserable. I highly recommend activity as the best antidote. It may be difficult to begin being active but it is well worth it. The only person I know who has also gone through a life threatening condition is a friend in CA who had breast cancer. She was a huge support for me. The other people in my water aerobics class were great too.
For me personally, getting back to normalcy is essential. I remember even after the death of my mother my great managers told me to take as much time as I needed with pay. I was back in two days. It does no good to sit around feeling bad.
JK

Hello JK @contentandwell

I appreciate your sharing how you have coped with difficulty and change.

Teresa

@contentandwell - Please remind me about getting active as soon as I'm allowed following transplant when my time comes because I don't expect that to be automatic to me. I'm counting on you!

Lynn

@lcamino Lynn, I'll be there for you. Should I be a nag? 😉 My husband used to go a gym all the time but then fell away from it. When I started going so regularly he was shamed into going again -- I did not nag him. He does not go as often as I do but he does go about 3 times a week, which is good.
JK

Good morning transplant friends!
Today's blog post titled "Transplant Resource: Using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients" is a good post to share with anyone looking for a transplant center. The SRTR posts new data twice a year, and this post helps explain the new data from last month. Thanks for sharing this with anyone interested and have a wonderful day!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/transplant-resource-using-the-scientific-registry-of-transplant-recipients/
- Kristin

@contentandwell - YES, you have permission to nag me! Since I won't be shamed into going because I can't watch you go then I will need a nudge. I have a feeling my husband will want me to take it easy (he is good at babying me) so I will need a push, or two, or three...

Lynn

@lcamino, I don't know how often you go now, I do know you have done a lot of bike riding, but when I get on a roll with going I feel compelled to go and if I miss I kick myself later in the day. My husband thinks I am obsessed or addicted. I don't think so because I really hate the gym! The water exercises are not so bad because it's a great group of women in there, but getting up, putting on a bathing suit (outside of the club no one gets to see this old body in a bathing suit), showering afterwards, etc., takes a lot of time and effort. I generally leave here at about 8:30 and don't get home until after 11:00. After the class I continue to exercise in the water by jogging up and down a lane for around 45 more minutes. Then after my shower I reward myself with relaxing in the sauna. I will not use the hot tubs generally because I am afraid of UTIs. My surgeon knows i am pretty sensible so he left that to my discretion. I told him I only go in if I have been in the pool for a long time and during that time no one has been in the hot tub. I figure the chlorine must have done its thing by then.
When I first started doing my own thing after class no one else did that and now a number of people do! No one does it as long as I do though. I keep pushing myself. My family is amused because for years and years they never saw me do any exercise.
Lynn, if you don't go now, get started. It will help with your eventual recovery and of course it will help too if you want to lose weight. I feel 100% certain it is why I had such an excellent recuperation.
JK