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Moderator

Waiting for the Call: What needs to get done at home before you go?

Posted by Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung, Jul 15, 2019

Recently, we asked the Transplant group members to share their tips in the discussion Packing question: What did you have ready for "the call"?

Along with a lot of great packing tips, several of you mentioned things that need to be done at home in preparation for the call (i.e. pay bills, arrange for someone to mow grass, shovel snow, etc). I'd like to gather your tips again to help others who are waiting for the call.

When you know you’ll be leaving home for an extended period, but aren’t quite sure when you’re leaving, how do you prepare the home? How do you prepare family members?

What should be on your checklist?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Transplants Support Group.

Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Aug 4, 2019
In reply to @auntval "I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure..." + (show)
@auntval

I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure I will have many questions. The first is: How long before you are cleared to resume regular interactions with folks? My life is full of grandkids (also know as germ machines), children and friends. Thank you.

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@auntval, Welcome to Connect. You are the sunshine of my morning by sharing your willingness to be evaluated to be a living kidney donor. I am a recipient and my donor is a deceased donor. This is an excellent question, and I am confident that you will soon be hearing from others who are more qualified than me to respond to it.

-In the meantime, here is a discussion I want to share with you: Kidney transplant - The Journey from the Donor's Side. If you click on this link you will be taken to the discussion. You will have the option to select the order of oldest to newest or newest to oldest posts. It is a lengthy discussion, but I think it it well worth an afternoon of reading. I invite you to join in that discussion with your question, too.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/kidney-transplant-from-the-donor-side/
-Here is another feature from Mayo Connect Transplant Pages where you will find the Living Donor Toolkit.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/tab/resource-36/
I look forward to hearing more about your journey. Your questions are always welcome here.

REPLY
mauraacro | @mauraacro | Aug 4, 2019
In reply to @auntval "I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure..." + (show)
@auntval

I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure I will have many questions. The first is: How long before you are cleared to resume regular interactions with folks? My life is full of grandkids (also know as germ machines), children and friends. Thank you.

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Congrats on looking into being a donor!
Donors don't have as many restrictions as recipients because their immune system isn't compromised by health concerns or medication.
I would think you could see them as soon as you feel well enough for company but there is a lifting restriction (not more than 10#) for a month or so.

REPLY
cmael | @cmael | Aug 4, 2019
In reply to @auntval "I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure..." + (show)
@auntval

I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure I will have many questions. The first is: How long before you are cleared to resume regular interactions with folks? My life is full of grandkids (also know as germ machines), children and friends. Thank you.

Jump to this post

My daughter was my donor. Since she was not on immunosuppressants, there was no waiting period to see family or anyone. It’s just using common sense after surgery. A week after surgery, she was being silly and doing a jig to show us how good she felt. Also sending a huge thank you for your willingness to be a donor.

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Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Oct 1, 2019
In reply to @auntval "I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure..." + (show)
@auntval

I am just in the personal evaluation stage of becoming a kidney donor. I am sure I will have many questions. The first is: How long before you are cleared to resume regular interactions with folks? My life is full of grandkids (also know as germ machines), children and friends. Thank you.

Jump to this post

@auntval, I want to follow up to your original post where you said that you had questions about being a living kidney donor. Did the informatioin that I shared provide you with answers to some of your questions? Are you still thinking about living donation?

REPLY
1 reply
auntval | @auntval | Oct 1, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "@auntval, I want to follow up to your original post where you said that you had..." + (show)
@rosemarya

@auntval, I want to follow up to your original post where you said that you had questions about being a living kidney donor. Did the informatioin that I shared provide you with answers to some of your questions? Are you still thinking about living donation?

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Thank you, Rosemary. I am still working toward the possibility of being a donor for my niece. There were several issues on my end that needed to be addressed before we could start the testing process. I am almost there. Thank you for checking in.

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1 reply
jolinda | @jolinda | Oct 1, 2019
In reply to @auntval "Thank you, Rosemary. I am still working toward the possibility of being a donor for my..." + (show)
@auntval

Thank you, Rosemary. I am still working toward the possibility of being a donor for my niece. There were several issues on my end that needed to be addressed before we could start the testing process. I am almost there. Thank you for checking in.

Jump to this post

@auntval
I will keep in in my prayers. Living donation is such an amazing gift. I am so in awe of donors and I truly think they represent the best of humanity. I just saw my donor last week and she reminded me that she walk a mile a week after surgery...overachiever! 🙂 All my best to you.

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Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Oct 5, 2019

Here is an event for those who are in the Mayo JAX area. I am aware that some of you - @flagal22, @tiffersann, @tiffersann - are in the JAX area.
If you are able to attend, I would like to ask you to tell me something new that you might have learned or experienced by a person-to-person discussion?
Liver, Kidney, Pancreas Transplant - Second Chance Support Group
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/event/liver-kidney-pancreas-transplant-second-chance-support-group/
I am in central Kentucky, and we hope to have rain tomorrow to break our drought. How are you doing in Florida? Has any of the rain and storms and flooding over the summer had any effect on your current health?

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Mar 6, 2020

You shared invaluable tips about how to prepare when you're waiting for the call for a transplant. We took those tips and made them into a video to be shared on Mayo Clinic's app. The video is on YouTube and can also be shared on social media. Look how your tips on can now help thousands of other soon-to-be transplant recipients.


Do you see your tips? What tips would you add?

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