Finally, my medical evaluation begins. I have to say, that when I received my
appointment itinerary from Mayo Clinic, it looked rather daunting. Here’s how it went:
·
Day One (8/5/15):
o
Transplant visit – met my patient advocate
o
Transplant visit – saw the transplant nurse
(turns out, it was the same one who did my crossmatch blood test)
o
Laboratory – gave up 8 vials of blood
o
Laboratory – picked up jug to start 24 hour
urine collection
o
Radiology – chest x-ray
o
Transplant Evaluation – met with Nephrologist;
general “physical” type appointment
o
Donor Transplant Social Services – met with
social worker
o
Cardiology – Electrocardiogram
o
At nearly every point of contact they each
explained surgical risk factors, pain expectations, likelihood of
depression/anxiety and that I was not allowed to be financially reimbursed for
my donation (bribe, coercion, etc.)
o
The worst part of this day was the urine
collection – dragging a jug with me wherever I went to collect pee isn’t
exactly fun times.
·
Day Two (8/6/15):
o
Laboratory – 13 vials of blood
o
Radiology – Contrast dye test; CT Angio of
abdomen & pelvis.
o
This wasn’t painful, but the contrast sends a
strange warm sensation throughout the body.
It made me feel a little weird and somewhat woozy – I’m guessing because
of the significant blood draw and lack of food for the day.
o
Laboratory – thankfully, got to unload the
jug-o-pee that was getting heavier by the hour.
I actually turned it in at 23 hours – I’m an overachiever… I had filled
it to the brim.
o
Transplant visit – met with the second
transplant nurse. More of an informal
meeting with one other potential donor present.
Again, discussed surgical risk factors, pain expectations, likelihood of
depression/anxiety and no financial gain for the donation. Met a lovely lady (Jennifer) that is on the
same path I am. (We had actually met
over our pee jugs in radiology, just didn’t realize we were on the same track
together.)
·
Day Three
(8/7/15):
o
Neuropsychology – Psychology visit. Sat in front of a computer and answered 344
questions related to voices in my head, conspiracy theories, suicidal
tendencies, drug/alcohol use/abuse, need to act out criminal behaviors, as well
as do I have friends, supportive family, and happiness in my life. They were all to be ranked on a scale of
false, sometimes false, sometimes true, true. I left this appointment feeling
somewhat amused and hoping that I had not misunderstood any of the statements,
as there were multiple repeats of the same basic topics.
·
Day Four (8/10/15):
o
Nephrology – Hypertension BP monitor. This was a monster pain-in-the-butt. It didn’t seem like it would be, but wearing
a BP cuff for 24 hours was annoying, at best.
I thought my hand/fingers would turn blue and fall off.
·
Day Five (8/11/15):
o
Transplant Surgery Consultation
o
Nephrology – Remove hypertension BP monitor. I haven’t been this happy to see something go
in a long time.
o
Renal Studies – Transplant Iothalamate
Test; This test required 4 hours of
fasting before test. Not a horrible
test, just a long one. Drank lots of
water, peed a lot, contrast dye.
Thankfully the nurse/tech was very cordial. We had a great 3 hours together.
·
Day Six (8/12/15):
o
Transplant Return Visit – Learned at this visit that I tested positive
for TB (latent). Learned that this would
cause delays for treatment. Prescription
regimen is 9 months. Doc pushing for one
month, but more likely will be 3 months.
·
Selection Committee to meet 8/18/15
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