Not a big enough bottle for the 24 hour urine test Sunday, October 12, 2003, the day before the barrage of testing, I began the dreaded twenty-four hour urine collection. Why must we collect a full day’s worth? This test is a more accurate measure of creatinine levels. Since creatinine is a muscle by-product, the more …[ read more ]

A hemodialysis machine, used to physiologically aid or replace the kidneys in renal failure (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Unfortunately, Alan’s kidney function deteriorated to about twelve percent–the point where dialysis is indicated. Transplant results improve if no dialysis occurs, so our five year wait shrunk to a matter of weeks. My brother roofs. That means he spent …[ read more ]

Within a week, as promised, we had the initial results of the typing. The first measure–blood type. Prior to the “Results Show,” the DeFord audience had elected Bob by a vote of 5-1 (guess who had been the lone dissenter?). Only those with A+ blood needed to apply, as that matched Alan. Only Art and …[ read more ]

Alan and family today After the phlebotomist took vial after vial after vial of blood, I returned to my siblings in the waiting room, Here I discovered the problems of leaving my brothers and sisters unattended while the vampire (aka phlebotomist) emptied my blood. They read the information about organ donation that Mt. Sinai thought …[ read more ]

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) On a hot, humid Tuesday morning, five of us piled into my sister’s Suburban and headed to Mount Sinai for our initial screening. Without a long wait in the outer office, Susan Siriwatana, our case manager, ushered us into her office. Every transplant has …[ read more ]