{"id":6257,"date":"2019-09-13T13:59:38","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T12:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thinkkidneys.nhs.uk\/kquip\/?p=6257"},"modified":"2019-09-13T13:59:43","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T12:59:43","slug":"being-a-transplant-recipient-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thinkkidneys.nhs.uk\/kquip\/blog\/being-a-transplant-recipient-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Being a Transplant Recipient: The good, the bad, the ugly and the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My name\nis Philippa.  I first heard \u2018hypertension\u2019\nmentioned during my pregnancies in 1978 and 79, when I was hospitalised for rest as there was a risk of eclampsia.  Next time I heard the \u2018hypertension\u2019 word –\nand that my kidney results were not good – was in 2007. My GP called me into\nhis surgery to say I should start medication.  I was very reluctant to do that as I felt well,\nbut I was referred to a consultant cardiologist, and following various tests,\nagreed to go on pills. At the same time I was referred to a consultant\nnephrologist, who looked after me until September 2015, when he referred me to\nthe renal team. During that time I had two kidney biopsies in 2007 and 2015,\nwhich showed Focal Segmental Glomerular Sclerosis, secondary to hypertension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\nconsultant raised the subject of having a kidney transplant to me and John, my\nhusband. I was agreeable – but not when John said he\u2019d be willing to donate a\nkidney to me. In the end, we weren\u2019t compatible – but then the subject of the paired donor programme<\/a> was mentioned.  John immediately said he\u2019d go for it. I was\nvery reluctant to put him at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The renal\nteam continued to monitor my blood pressure and kidney test results, adjusting\nmy medications in the hope of a kidney transplant before having to start\ndialysis. However I was prepared for dialysis starting in February 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was\nthen trained up to do peritoneal dialysis<\/a>. The dialysis was carried out at\nhome, initially manually four times daily. \nAfter six weeks I went onto the CAPD machine which I hooked up to at\nnight. There was a regular delivery of vast quantities of fluids plus waste\ncollections but John and I quickly became used to the routine. I did have\nproblems, such as my pelvic floor being affected with varying degrees of urinary\n& faecal incontinence. The dialysis was not hugely successful as my renal\nfunction continued to deteriorate and I think I was close to being put on\nhaemodialysis, however, along came my new kidney in December 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had\nour first Transplant appointment in Oxford on 4th<\/sup> February 2016 and began\nthe process of getting on the paired donor programme. We were out in Portugal\nwhen the team rang us to say they\u2019d found a match.  We finished our holiday and on the 25th<\/sup>\nOctober had blood tests for matching. At this time we were also interviewed by\nthe human transplant authority to check there was no coercion or bribery – we\nbrought along photos of our wedding, children, grandchildren…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntransplant team all nurtured us along, caring for us, answering our questions\nand prompting us. It all felt slightly unreal to me. All these people were\ngiving their time and knowledge to care for me, my amazing generous husband was\ngiving one of his precious kidneys to me, I was very blessed. From the first\ntime I was referred to the renal team, I was so fortunate to be cared for by\nsuch wonderful, competent doctors and nurses. \n I resolved I would make the best\nof every day I had left to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere\nelse in the UK was a truly remarkable woman of my own age, who I believe had\noffered her kidney for altruistic donation. \nShe started our pairing off, I will always remember and be grateful to\nher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day\narrived and on 14th<\/sup> December 2016 I was admitted to Wytham Ward\nChurchill Oxford.  Our nurses popped in to\nreassure us that everything was on schedule. I went down in the afternoon and\nmy family went into Oxford for a meal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My kidney\nworked so well that within hours my egfr had started to increase and my\ncreatinine to decrease. The staff were so kind and proficient at their work on\nWytham ward. I was discharged six days post-op. I had an ileus, which made me\nfeel very sick, I didn\u2019t want to eat and was very weak. It took me about four\nmonths to feel strong again. Our son came into hospital on one of my bad days\npost-op and cared for me so tenderly, I will never forget that. Our daughter\ncame to look after us in the first two weeks post-op, and then John\u2019s sisters\ncame from Dublin for two further weeks. That was a great help to us both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John\ndonated his kidney on 15th<\/sup> December in the morning, it was a long\nday waiting for him to come back on the ward, but finally I was pushed round to\nsee him and give him a hug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad<\/strong> was my reluctance in the\nvery early days to listen to the doctors who were telling me that I had high blood\npressure and not taking medication for it resulting in CKD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ugly <\/strong>was the cold I felt with\nCKD, the awful itching and the pelvic floor weakness plus the ileus post-op. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Good <\/strong>without a doubt was\/is the\nwonderful team who cared for me and John throughout our donation and transplant\nprocess. My kidney donor and my amazing husband who made my transplant\npossible. They are my heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future<\/strong> looks good for me. I do\nmy very best to comply fully with my medication and attend my appointments. I\ntry to give as much as I can back to my friends, family & community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish\nthat all patients needing a kidney get one and enjoy the benefits of a renewed\nlife. I think the new \u201copt out\u201d scheme<\/a> will help with increasing numbers of\npatients receiving a new kidney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My name is Philippa.  I first heard \u2018hypertension\u2019 mentioned during my pregnancies in 1978 and 79, when I was hospitalised for rest as there was a risk of eclampsia.  Next time I heard the \u2018hypertension\u2019 word – and that my kidney results were not good – was in 2007. My GP called me into his surgery to say I should start medication.  I was very reluctant…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBeing a Transplant Recipient: The good, the bad, the ugly and the future - The Kidney Quality Improvement Partnership<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thinkkidneys.nhs.uk\/kquip\/blog\/being-a-transplant-recipient-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Being a Transplant Recipient: The good, the bad, the ugly and the future - The Kidney Quality Improvement Partnership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My name is Philippa.  I first heard \u2018hypertension\u2019 mentioned during my pregnancies in 1978 and 79, when I was hospitalised for rest as there was a risk of eclampsia.  Next time I heard the \u2018hypertension\u2019 word – and that my kidney results were not good – was in 2007. 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