bobcat
<font color=magenta>I had a horrible case two year
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
- Messages
- 4,158
After donating a kidney to her sister my friend Janet found out she had the same blood disorder and eventually needed a kidney transplant of her own. As a deputy sheriff having a transplant was devastating because there was no gaurantee that she could return to duty, and even if she was able to it was doubtful that she would be able to patrol again and would be in a desk job. Well never tell Janet can't. It's not in her vocabulary. She recovered from the transplant and was able to return to patrol duty. Her disease was still an issue but her health was good and her kidney was functioning. Then the disease came back with a vengance and she needed anther transplant. The transplant was successful for a while but the blood disorder created complications and Janet had to go back on dialysis. It broke her heart to go back on the waiting list for another transplant but the doctors were hopeful yet again that they would not only find a kidney but that she would have a semi normal life again. She drove herself an hour one way to dialysis twice a week and took care of her own needs by hooking herself up to a self dialysis unit and spending the night at the hospital so that she wasn't a burden to anyone. An independent, strong woman she was.
It was hard for her to live with her mother and to recieve disability but she never complained. She loved the sheriffs department and her work there so much that she continued to volunteer as often as she could. My best friend, and another childhood friend of Janet's, was now a deputy sheriff in the same department as well and they became very close. So close in fact that when it looked as though another donor kidney wouldn't be found she tested and was a match to become a living donor. In a year long process that saw more illness and hospitalization for Janet it looked as though because of blood transfusions the surgery wouldn't be sucessfull because there was high possibility of rejection. The search continued for another donor while they tested the two women every few months to see if anything had changed.
During this time a donor kidney was found and the hospital tried to contact Janet for the surgery. For the first time in years she had taken a vacation to Florida with her mom. They were traveling through the mountains and had no cell reception. The hospital called the sheriffs department in the county she lived to try and find her and as you can probably guess that is the department she worked for. The used all of their resources to find her but it was too late and the kidney went to another person. They found her but she wouldn't have made it back in time.
On their last try the two women were a match again for transplant and the surgery was performed this past spring. It went beautifully. Janet was off of dialysis and my best friend recovered with no lasting effects. Janet was just a couple of weeks from being cleared to go back to active duty! And again the disease came back to ravage her body. As she was fighting to stay off of dialysis she recieved word that if she continued to volunteer at the sheriffs department her disability would be yanked. They told her she could do anything else but she was not to step foot in the sheriffs department.
Her body couldn't fight this disease and she ended up back on dialysis. Wednesday as she was leaving dialysis she suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. Monday she suffered another stroke and passed away. Her body couldn't fight anymore.
Janet was 32 years old. One week older than me. We played with dolls together, we rode horses and explored on her farm. We had our sweet 16 birthday party together as well as celebrating turning into adults at 18. She was witty and she was inteligent. Her smile would light up a room. Although we drifted apart as young adults do we kept in touch and had lunch a couple of times a year as well running into each others family in our small community. I was there for the last transplant and I was thankful to visit last Sunday to let her know how much I love her.
Let those in your life know how much they mean to you! You never know when you won't be able to. Please pray for her family.
It was hard for her to live with her mother and to recieve disability but she never complained. She loved the sheriffs department and her work there so much that she continued to volunteer as often as she could. My best friend, and another childhood friend of Janet's, was now a deputy sheriff in the same department as well and they became very close. So close in fact that when it looked as though another donor kidney wouldn't be found she tested and was a match to become a living donor. In a year long process that saw more illness and hospitalization for Janet it looked as though because of blood transfusions the surgery wouldn't be sucessfull because there was high possibility of rejection. The search continued for another donor while they tested the two women every few months to see if anything had changed.
During this time a donor kidney was found and the hospital tried to contact Janet for the surgery. For the first time in years she had taken a vacation to Florida with her mom. They were traveling through the mountains and had no cell reception. The hospital called the sheriffs department in the county she lived to try and find her and as you can probably guess that is the department she worked for. The used all of their resources to find her but it was too late and the kidney went to another person. They found her but she wouldn't have made it back in time.
On their last try the two women were a match again for transplant and the surgery was performed this past spring. It went beautifully. Janet was off of dialysis and my best friend recovered with no lasting effects. Janet was just a couple of weeks from being cleared to go back to active duty! And again the disease came back to ravage her body. As she was fighting to stay off of dialysis she recieved word that if she continued to volunteer at the sheriffs department her disability would be yanked. They told her she could do anything else but she was not to step foot in the sheriffs department.
Her body couldn't fight this disease and she ended up back on dialysis. Wednesday as she was leaving dialysis she suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. Monday she suffered another stroke and passed away. Her body couldn't fight anymore.
Janet was 32 years old. One week older than me. We played with dolls together, we rode horses and explored on her farm. We had our sweet 16 birthday party together as well as celebrating turning into adults at 18. She was witty and she was inteligent. Her smile would light up a room. Although we drifted apart as young adults do we kept in touch and had lunch a couple of times a year as well running into each others family in our small community. I was there for the last transplant and I was thankful to visit last Sunday to let her know how much I love her.
Let those in your life know how much they mean to you! You never know when you won't be able to. Please pray for her family.
