This and That and Talk - My Transplant

I had kidney transplant 8 mos ago at Mayo Rochester. I was told to plan on a four week stay. It turned out to a few days less. I was in the hospital for 5 days, but could have been 4 days if I hadn’t had a problem with diarrhea. The Gift of Life transplant house is a place that’s very reasonable for you and a caretaker. My family and I rented a home from Airbnb which was perfect for us. My daughter was the donor. She was in the hospital 3 nights, but she could have gone home a day earlier also, but chose to stay because of shoulder/chest pain from the air inflation. She took 4 weeks off, but could have gone back sooner. It depends on how physical your job is. My insurance paid for gas, lodging and parking. I was very grateful for that!

I had my kidney transplant 6 years ago at Mayo. My mom was my living donor. I stayed in the hospital 4 days postop. Then we stayed in a hotel that had a kitchenette for about 4 weeks from the time we went prior to transplant to when we left. As long as you schedule a stay for at least 4 weeks in a hotel, they will not charge you sales tax on your stay. This worked out great for us as there was a bedroom as well as a Murphy bed in the living room area. The only complication I encountered postop was with the Bactrim which they felt was the cause of interstitial nephritis and is now on my allergy list as being allergic to sulfa based antibiotics. I had a liver transplant in 1995 and a second one in 2007. The anti-rejection meds were the culprit for taking out my kidneys as well. As in all things we have to take the good with the bad, but always looking on the positive side we wouldn't be here without the miracles that can be done these days.

Wow sounds a lot like me only my liver is doing good 20 years and counting! Just hope I don’t have to have another liver transplant .. seems weird that after so much time it would fail !! But I know reading up on it that is what it’s says they only last 20-25 years ...well I’m planning on pushing that mark lol .. how many days before transplant did you have to be there just the day before ? So much to do and prepare but right now get thru the holidays and be thankful we are all still here to be with our families!! ❤️

My daughter and I both had last minute testing the day before. We we down to Mayo two nights before surgery.

Well I just got back from Mayo ..I had a liver transplant 20 years ago and now my kidneys are failing from the drugs .. So I was put on the list but my sister went to get tested this week and we found out she is a perfect match !!!! So before we left we picked a day and I will be having surgery on the 21 year anniversary of my liver transplant March 8 2019 !! So in 10 weeks we will be back down to Mayo for the big day .... I was kinda wondering For the people out there who had a kidney transplant how long was you stay in the hospital and then how long did you have to stay in the area ? Linda want to get some kind of idea cause I’m looking at renting an apartment or you can do it Daily ??? Also anything else I need to prepare ahead of time .. obviously work and insurance... please let me know and Happy Holidays to all !!
Thanks Rose

I had kidney transplant 8 mos ago at Mayo Rochester. I was told to plan on a four week stay. It turned out to a few days less. I was in the hospital for 5 days, but could have been 4 days if I hadn’t had a problem with diarrhea. The Gift of Life transplant house is a place that’s very reasonable for you and a caretaker. My family and I rented a home from Airbnb which was perfect for us. My daughter was the donor. She was in the hospital 3 nights, but she could have gone home a day earlier also, but chose to stay because of shoulder/chest pain from the air inflation. She took 4 weeks off, but could have gone back sooner. It depends on how physical your job is. My insurance paid for gas, lodging and parking. I was very grateful for that!

cmael, I remember very clearly what I was doing/not doing during the holidays on the year before my transplant. Do you remember what your holiday was like last year?

Yes, last year was pretty typical of our usual Christmas activities...Christmas Eve at our son’s and Christmas morning at our house for Belgian waffles. We didn’t have a date for the transplant yet because my daughter had her testing planned for Jan. The idea of me having a transplant seemed so surreal. I had a hard time believing it was actually going to happen. I didn’t think I was that sick yet, despite the test results. Today I can sure see the difference.
However, this year my husband has pneumonia and I’ve been fighting a nasty cold for two weeks with an unrelenting cough. Hoping to feel better by Christmas.
🤞

Yes, last year was pretty typical of our usual Christmas activities...Christmas Eve at our son’s and Christmas morning at our house for Belgian waffles. We didn’t have a date for the transplant yet because my daughter had her testing planned for Jan. The idea of me having a transplant seemed so surreal. I had a hard time believing it was actually going to happen. I didn’t think I was that sick yet, despite the test results. Today I can sure see the difference.
However, this year my husband has pneumonia and I’ve been fighting a nasty cold for two weeks with an unrelenting cough. Hoping to feel better by Christmas.
🤞