Recently I was talking with some organ recipients about the complicated psychology of organ donation and receiving. We talked about possible feelings of guilt when you know someone has died and you have gotten an organ. It is sad but of course the recipient didn’t cause the death. Also, the family must get some comfort knowing that their loved one has saved the life of someone else.
I say this all of the time, but I think it must be more difficult to be a recipient than a donor. It must be hard to be in the position of having to receive rather than give, in addition to coping with the health condition that makes you need an organ in the first place.
One of the most interesting parts of the discussion was how recipients refer to the organ they have gotten. Some people even name the organ. One recipient said: “When I first got my heart I would say ‘the heart.’ After a few months my friends started noticing that I was saying ‘my heart.’ The change was unconscious.” This got me to thinking about “my kidney” out there, now residing in the recipient. I wasn’t aware of it until that discussion, but I stopped thinking of it as “my kidney” as soon as I no longer had it. To me it is “the kidney” but more importantly, I hope the recipient is now saying “my kidney.”
The kidney walks are starting to gear up. Please give to one or participate in a walk in your area.
If you are a potential organ donor or recipient or have already received or given an organ, you may need support. It is sometimes good to hear about other people’s experiences and to share yours. When I was preparing for donation I read a lot of blogs that showed details on donor’s experiences.
I thought I would share with you some of the questions I get asked a lot and how I answer them.
Well, last Friday marked five weeks since my kidney donation. I am doing pretty well. I still feel a little “tug” at my largest incision site when I bend or twist but I can move almost normally. I am slower than usual when walking and still can’t use arm weights but probably next week I will be able to use the weights. I still get more tired than normal and go to bed earlier than usual. The “stitch” in my side is almost gone but makes an appearance once in awhile to remind me of my experience.
Today on my walk I thought of this blog. (When I walk a lot of ideas come to me.) First let me say I am not speaking as a terribly fit person. As a matter of fact, people look surprised when I say that I exercise every day because I don’t look like it. I have my family’s “wonderful” metabolism–after one week of basically not eating after surgery I lost a grand total of two pounds. But more than aesthetics, exercise just helps you feel better. Leslie Sansone (who has a lot of workouts that I like) says: “How many times after a workout do you say, ‘I am sorry I did that?’ Never.”
