My Results

I heard from Dr. Cool Whip a lot sooner than I expected. I guess it was karma's way of making up for the fiasco that was the biopsy. I was happy to discover that Dr. Cool Whip, like Dr. Bates, is no nonsense when it comes to giving results. He wasted no time to getting down to business, explained everything thoroughly and made sure to carefully prepare me for what would happen next. For that, he gets another check in the plus column.

The Bad News:
The biopsy showed no recurrence of my original autoimmune disease or any traces of acute rejection (rejection that is usually treatable). It also ruled out the possibility of the BK virus, ( and yes, Dr. Cool Whip did make a Burger King joke here...check in the minus column) which is a virus that can mimic the signs of rejection. While this may sound like excellent news, it unfortunately confirms our theory that we are simply dealing with a worn out transplant, or chronic rejection. It's slightly annoying that I had to go through an ordeal like the biopsy to find out something we already knew, but I don't regret the decision at all. If I hadn't done it and found out later that there was something we could have done to save the kidney, I would have been a super sad panda.

The Good News:
Dr. Cool Whip says my kidney bits showed a crap-ton of scar tissue. Yes, I realize this is technically not a good thing. The abundance of scar tissue, though, proves that my kidney is functioning below the 30% needed to be put back on the transplant list. So, I should be hearing from Hershey's transplant team soon to get the ball rolling on the whole process. Getting on the list is, of course, not as simple as adding your name to the bottom. There will be papers to sign and blood to be drawn, but one that is completed, I can start earning points towards my next kidney. The transplant process is very much like the Bonus Buy card system at Giant. Also, once I'm back on the list, anyone who may want to consider donating can start getting tested.

I know this all seems like a huge downer, and I must admit, it was like a punch to the junk to find out my kidney isn't functioning as well as we thought. But it is a huge relief to be able to get on the transplant list now, while I'm still feeling relatively good, rather than waiting until things get worse. There's also my creatinine, which has been stable since July, meaning the kidney is holding it's own for now. It doesn't seem to be in a huge rush to go anywhere, once again living up to its reputation as a super kidney.