I know what you are thinking, who in the world is Nacho? Well, my friends, Nacho, is Darin's kidney! 3 years ago on this very date, Darin's Sister, Mary, was generous enough to donate her kidney to Darin. Why call the kidney "Nacho?" Well, Mary is very fond of Mexican food and Darin came up with the name Nacho. She is also very fond of Diet Coke, but Nacho had a better ring to it.
The road to Nacho was a long and difficult road for us. 6 months after we were married we found out that Darin was in kidney failure and needed dialysis ASAP. I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time. It really was touch and go for a while, we had a few scares that left me wondering if I was going to be a single parent. We also found out that you have to be your own advocate when it comes to your health, having been though a few doctors that really didn't care for his well-being and only concerned with numbers and their own pockets. We finally found a wonderful doctor that helped us on the road to doing home dialysis and ultimately getting on the transplant waiting list. After a few bumps (nearly 2 years) on the waiting list they finally tested both Darin's Sister and Brother- both were matches, with his sister being a near identical match. The surgery was an immediate success, I couldn't believe how much healthier Darin looked right after surgery! Nacho pee'd up a storm! No doubt that it was Mary's kidney!
I wish I could report that we lived happily ever after after leaving the hospital..... the transplant ended up being the easy part, but that's a story for another day! Let's just say we consider the staff at Swedish Hospital our family.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to The Swedish Transplant Team and of course the biggest thanks goes out to Mary who so selflessly gave her brother the gift of life. On this day of celebration, I ask you to please become and Organ Donor. Make sure you check the box on your driver's license and also make sure your family knows of your desire to become an organ donor.
The road to Nacho was a long and difficult road for us. 6 months after we were married we found out that Darin was in kidney failure and needed dialysis ASAP. I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time. It really was touch and go for a while, we had a few scares that left me wondering if I was going to be a single parent. We also found out that you have to be your own advocate when it comes to your health, having been though a few doctors that really didn't care for his well-being and only concerned with numbers and their own pockets. We finally found a wonderful doctor that helped us on the road to doing home dialysis and ultimately getting on the transplant waiting list. After a few bumps (nearly 2 years) on the waiting list they finally tested both Darin's Sister and Brother- both were matches, with his sister being a near identical match. The surgery was an immediate success, I couldn't believe how much healthier Darin looked right after surgery! Nacho pee'd up a storm! No doubt that it was Mary's kidney!
I wish I could report that we lived happily ever after after leaving the hospital..... the transplant ended up being the easy part, but that's a story for another day! Let's just say we consider the staff at Swedish Hospital our family.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to The Swedish Transplant Team and of course the biggest thanks goes out to Mary who so selflessly gave her brother the gift of life. On this day of celebration, I ask you to please become and Organ Donor. Make sure you check the box on your driver's license and also make sure your family knows of your desire to become an organ donor.
1 comment:
I'm an organ donor! I am an organ donor!!
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