Testing Day 2

August 3, 2011

Today is testing day 2!  My first appointment is not until 11am.  Gary’s sweet wife Christy is watching my boys for the day.  My first appointment is at the Transplant Center on Live Oak.  I am having a GloFill procedure done.  My understanding is this procedure is done to test the function of my kidneys.  I was told to arrive at the test well hydrated, I was instructed to drink at least 5 8 ounce glasses of water daily and no caffeine or alcohol, 3 days prior to the test.  I wanted to make sure I was hydrated, so I cut out caffeine and began drinking only water a week before the test.  I arrived for the procedure and of course, I had to give ANOTHER urine sample.  Next, I had to drink a nasty iodine and warm diet coke cocktail…yuck!!  I was then given a GloFill injection in my arm; it is a synthetic form of Creatin (sp?).   (Creatin is broken down or processed by the kidneys.)  Every 30 mins I had to pee in a urine hat and it was measured, I was then told how much more water to drink and then blood samples are taken.  This went on for 3 hours!  Thankfully, I was well hydrated and only had to drink 1 cup of water every 30minutes.  I find it very interesting that there was a sweet man administering my GloFill procedure whose name is Gary!  This procedure was finished at 2pm and next I had a psychological evaluation with another social worker.  She was a very soft spoken and friendly.  She asked all kinds of questions about my life and my relationship with Gary and his family and why I wanted to donate.  I love to tell people how God called me to do this, but you never know how it will sound to a non believer.  I told her, “I know it sounds crazy to some people, but I honestly feel like I was called to do this”  With tears in her eyes she responded, “It does not sound crazy at all, I know exactly what you mean, I hear that all the time from people who are donating.” 

At 4 Pm, I went for a CAT scan of my kidneys and the arteries surrounding them.  At this point, I am STARVING!  I was not allowed to eat 1 hour before the GloFill and 4 hrs before the CT.  So, I have not eaten since breakfast!  I arrive and meet the man who will do my CT, whose name happens to be…..you guessed it, Gary!! God makes no mistakes!!  I have never had a CT before, so I did not know what to expect.  I lay on the CT table and the guy tells me he is going to inject a radioactive dye into my veins.  He said they have to inject it at such a high speed to capture it as it is going through the arteries for a good clear picture.  He warns me that the injection of the dye will give me a warm sensation and make me feel as if I have wet my pants….oh this should be fun!  He steps out of the room and speaks to me on an intercom.  He tells me to hold my breath and injects the dye though my IV.  I immediately feel a rush of heat, like the most intense hot flash ever!  My face became hot and I felt a little dizzy.  Then I felt it….the feeling he told me about, I thought for sure I had wet myself!!  I actually thought it felt like when I was pregnant with Ian and my water broke. I was scared to get up, because I just knew my pants were wet.  But strangely I had not we my pants, just a very similar feeling!!  Glad that is over!  At 5pm I was done with all of my pre-donor testing!!! 

We should have the results in a couple of weeks.  The Transplant Center will present my test results to the Transplant Committee, Baylor on Friday August 14^th.  They will determine if I am able to donate.  If so, surgery will most likely be scheduled in the next couple of months!!!  Prayers please!