A Shining Star…A Organ Donor Bittersweet Story
My brother in law was discharged from a hospital this past Friday where he received a new kidney just 5 days earlier. This was a 5 year wait for him…a very long 5 years. And the past 1.5 years he was living apart from my sister who was holding down the fort in Florida while he relocated to the Detroit area where we all actually grew up and as it turned out he was told he would have a much better chance at getting a donor.
He was on dialysis 4 times a week and had many surgery false alarms so trust me when I say that I couldn’t stop crying when I got the video from my nephew who was there with him as he was being wheeled into the operating room while Earth Wind and Fire’s “Shining Star.” was playing on his phone. Never have these words been more meaningful …
And while his shining star was coming into view, my sister was getting on a plane for Detroit, a flight she had booked a few weeks before when she decided she didn’t want to be apart any longer. Maybe it was fate intervening, but after 6 months of managing his care from a far…during a pandemic…getting on that plane despite it being a significant risk but knowing where it was taking her had to be one of the best feelings ever. Unfortunately, she still can’t take the risk of exposing him to anything, especially COVID, so she has to quarantine for another week before she will be able to see him and start to help him navigate the next 4–6 months of recovery including a few more weeks of dialysis and then physical and occupational therapy. Honestly, I don’t know how she kept it together all this time, but I am so happy the worst is finally behind them.
With that said and, as a professional organizer, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how I think my sister really kept it together. She has always been a very organized person. We definitely got that gene from our mother and I am certain my father would not argue that point based on what his desk looked like throughout his legal career.
Suffice it to say, my sister kept incredible records of every detail of her husband’s treatments, insurance, doctors, etc. especially in the past six months with the layers of complications that the pandemic has caused for those with compromised immune systems. The medical bills have been overwhelming to say the least so if you still don’t believe we need universal healthcare in this country then I hope you never need a kidney transplant or any other major treatment.
Moral of this story? Not everyone has the meticulous record keeping gene. But I can tell you with all certainty there is no way you can possibly get through a medical crisis if you do not have the necessary ducks in a row before the crisis even begins.
Don’t assume a doctor’s office will always be there to provide you with your records when you need them. Keep copies electronically but be prepared to print them out if need be.
I really am not a fan of keeping paper records but having a binder to organize all of the various test results, medications, treatments, legal documents (living will, health care surrogate, power of attorney, etc) at your fingertips really is necessary in a case like this.
One more thing…if you aren’t already, please consider signing up to be an organ donor. The kidney my brother in law received came from a 41 year old woman who sadly choked on a piece of chicken which prompted a heart attack and unfortunately was not going to recover. It was tragic and my heart goes out to her friends and family, but several people received various organs from her and will go on to have healthy productive lives. What an incredible gift that cannot ever be reciprocated back, but it definitely can moving forward.
For more information about organ donation you can check out the websites below.
