My First Steps

Just as I was beginning to think Dr. Cool Whip had forgotten about me, I got a call from Hershey's Transplant Team. They were calling to schedule my preliminary evaluation appointment and I had two choices: I could go to the clinic here in State College in freaking January or I could go to Hershey on November 12. The earlier date was the obvious right answer even though I was slightly irritated that I was only given two options. I happen to have an appointment with Dr. Cool Whip on November 4 which equals two trips to Hershey in about a week...not really a deal breaker, but an annoyance nonetheless. So, I am all set for November 12 and transplant nurse (I've already forgotten her name) tells me I'll be getting a packet of information telling me what all to expect that day along with some forms to fill out and prescriptions for various lab work and procedures. She also says I need to arrive at 7:30 a.m. and should plan on being there all day. Um, what? Apparently, I have to attend a training session with a bunch of other people who are hoping to get on the transplant list. I will also have some labs drawn and meet with the entire transplant team including surgeons, nurses, more nephrologists, social workers, nutritionists and financial counselors. While I am excited to meet everyone, it seems like an unnecessarily long day. My first thought? " What time to we get to break for lunch?"

I received my information packet yesterday and was instantly overwhelmed. I had a minor internal outburst where I ranted about not wanting to be a grown-up, but eventually convinced myself to plow through the mountains of paperwork. There were the standard, "What when your kidneys fail?" and "What happens next?" packets and even a fancy DVD addressing the same issues. I'll take "Things That Have Been Second Nature To Me For The Last 14 Years" for $1000, Alex. Then came the medical history forms...tedious and time-consuming, but relatively simple and straight-forward. I'm fairly certain, however, that making someone like me list all of their hospital stays and surgeries in their LIFE could be considered a form of torture, and yes, I needed a second page to list them all. Finally, I got to the part that made me close my eyes, take a deep breath and remind myself that this was all just a means to an end, that it was completely necessary and that it would all be over before I knew it...the list of prescriptions and orders.

This list was nothing like I expected. For one thing there were ten freaking pages of orders...10! There were the usual suspects, standard blood work, blood typing, tissue typing and urine samples, but the list didn't end there. Here are just a few of the tests/procedures I have to look forward to in the next few weeks because, oh yeah, they have to be done BEFORE my appointment: TB test, pneumonia vaccine, flu vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine series and booster, abdominal ultrasound, EKG, echocardiogram, chest X-RAY, pap smear and a pharmacological nuclear medicine stress test (I have no idea what that is, but the name alone scares the crap out of me).

My brain tells me these tests are all necessary and that I'll do whatever it takes to get back on the list. My brain also tells me that even though I don't remember it well, I've made it through all of this before. Knowing this, however, doesn't make things any less daunting. I have a long couple of weeks ahead of me and the hardest part is knowing that I could finish all of this testing and training only to be denied. That outcome is unlikely, but I have to be aware of that possibility which makes this process that much more challenging.