Kidney Infection Review - Healthy Guide for Kidney Symtom

Ohio Woman Donates Kidney To Spouse

By Anonymous

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My Online Diary: How It Helped Me through My Husband's Transplant
By Janice Uible
Being the wife of a dialysis patient waiting for a kidney transplant was overwhelming enough; I never thought I would be his kidney donor. I still can't believe that it will be one year on October 29th, our kidney-versary and my husband's birthday! When I first started keeping an online diary, it didn't really occur to me that many people I didn't know would read my site. So I chose the title: KIDNEYGURL because it sounded like me. I gave the Website address :http://kidneygurl.diaryland.com to friends who wanted to keep informed about The Transplant Date (which had been postponed twice already). It was easier to type about what was going on than repeat the same report over and over on the phone. With 24-hour availability on the Internet, I could post my entries at night, when I couldn't sleep. I read email from new and old friends, as the new transplant day approached. I don't know how other people heard about my site, other than looking at new diaries that were not "password" protected, or why they kept reading, but they did. I got an email from a visitor on the same day I started my diary. She had been a donor for her father. She wrote me encouraging words from "One Who Had Been There." Other readers wrote or signed my guestbook and identified themselves as donors or family members of a donor. They were so positive and uplifting!

It was hard to accept their compliments. I felt unworthy of their praise. I still feel that the kidney donation was not a sacrifice, but an honor in itself to be healthy enough to qualify. And being healthy, the donation was not a big deal. I didn't even know where my kidneys were before Richard's diagnosis and I don't miss the missing one, now that it is gone. But that is a whole other topic. Back to Topic: It was touching to know that there were more people rooting and praying for us that didn't even know us than people we knew. I discovered that we were not alone. I read other diaries about kidney transplants. I learned from them. I "met" many who were affected by kidney failure and also their families. I was very impressed by "Kidney Failure-A Personal Journal" by Peter Langley. It was well written and very informative. I chose Diaryland for my diary because A) it was free to create a basic diary and B) it was easy to set up and use. Later I upgraded from "FREE" for a few dollars to be able to add photos.

Here are my favorite diary sites:
http://diaryland.com
http://easyjournal.com
http://www.livejournal.com I included photos of my husband, Richard, in the dialysis clinic; a photo of me 12 hours after the surgery; photos of both of us in the hospital; Richard having plasmapheresis treatments after the transplant; the hotel where we recuperated for a month; and anything that my $29.95 digital camera could take. I included links to favorite sites, anecdotes and little stories that I liked. I wrote in my diary whenever I felt like it, recording information and medical updates, venting my frustration and sometimes just being silly. Because I have found that laughter does reduce everything to size. Sometimes the encouragement I received from a diary reader meant the difference between a bad day and a good day. I believe God sent the right people into my life as necessary. I cannot say anymore than that. There was a sense of accomplishment as I learned web page building skills, and a good feeling, when I knew that many of our friends from dialysis would be able to keep up with us after we left there. Some folks (like my 83-year-old mother) would ask, "Aren't you afraid of all the STRANGERS on the Internet reading all your personal stuff?" To that, I only smile and want to say, "After being through a kidney transplant as a donor or recipient, there isn't much left untouched, un-probed or private." I write from my heart. My thoughts and feelings are my own and I have found a wonderful community of kindred spirits, whom I am proud to call my "friends" and would love to meet in person and share a pot of tea. I do use my middle name "Anne" as my diary name, but everything else is completely true.



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