I am happy to be a kindred spirit to your son and offer any support I can to you, as a fellow mom. As mothers, we would much prefer to deal with pain and health challenges ourselves, rather than watch our children deal with it. With PKD, we often have to deal with it as both.

As with all difficult journeys, there are gifts along the way. The love and kindness that are revealed through the hearts of family and friends; the medical community- people, who have devoted their lives to help and often save others; and the incredible generosity of donors, who offer the gift of life for others, either during their lives or after. Serious health challenges seem to strip away all the silly things that often consume our time and attention, and get to the heart of what life is all about - love, connection, the beauty of nature(for me), and the miracle of it all.

I am two years post transplant, and have enjoyed healthy kidney function since surgery. I am now, trying to gather the nerve to have my second kidney removed. I highly recommend looking at Mayo or a medical facility well-versed in removing both PKD kidneys at the time of transplant, because thinking of a second large surgery is daunting. Blessings