Recent things

First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️☘️

I’ll always fondly remember our St. Patrick’s Day spent in Ireland:

No big plans here except Ivan and I ARE going to go out for that St. Patty’s Day beer at a nearby Irish pub. Planning to go later, after dinner, and hope it won’t be as busy then.

Things have been good the last week or so. I’ve honestly still felt like I’m in recovery mode post-swim season and have been enjoying the peace and quiet. We’ve had plenty to do- lots of catching up, some pre-vacation errands/shopping, household things, etc. But it’s been good.

Last Wednesday 3/11 was Ivan’s birthday. A middle of the week birthday, on a day when Ethan had a tennis practice after school, is not the most optimal. We ended up meeting up with Ethan downtown and having a great little ramen dinner out, just the 4 of us.

We got talking about some college related things and somehow ended up on the Marquette University academics page, where we found this fun and silly “choose your major” quiz. Ha, I’m not sure about the accuracy, but it was entertaining to do with the boys.

I made Ivan some of his favorite cookies on my lunch hour:

It’s nice that I no longer have to help oversee gift buying, either! The boys each drove themselves to buy gifts- Ethan got him a restaurant gift card + some candy, Asher bought him a new polo shirt, and I got him a new pair of Vuori shorts. It was a nice day!

On Thursday night I had a work “gala” to attend in Waukesha (about 45 min away). It was a ‘Spotlight on Life’ event focusing on kidney transplantation and the gift of life (and it was a fundraiser/ auction type event benefiting the National Kidney Foundation of WI which is a wonderful organization).

The dress attire was ‘cocktail with a spot of orange’. (Orange is the Donate Life color.)

Well I didn’t really have anything that exactly met that description, but I do own a burnt orange dress. So I went with a lot of orange instead of a spot of orange. Haha. Whatever.

My work bestie and I carpooled together which was fun. It was a nice event! Nice to sip a glass of wine and enjoy a free dinner and a ginormous piece of apple pie.

There were some very moving and inspirational speakers sharing their stories of living donation, including some live donor/ recipient pairs in the house.

Since we’re on the topic, let me share a few fun facts!

🔶 Did you know that many people have the beginnings of renal disease WELL before they have any symptoms?

🔶 Uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes are two of the biggest causes of renal failure. Make sure you’re getting regular checks for both of these things! Treating these conditions early is your best chance at avoiding progression to renal failure.

🔶 Receiving a live kidney is usually the BEST option for a transplant recipient. (But deceased donor kidneys are an absolutely amazing gift too- make sure you’re a registered donor! Check the box on your drivers license or sign up online. You can find the link to your state here. Spread the word! You can’t take your organs with you when you go… save a bunch of lives here with them instead! Donate life.)

🔶If you are so inclined, you can donate a kidney altruistically and anonymously. More people do this than you’d realize! It is awesome.

🔶The living donor surgery is typically done laparoscopically- just a couple of tiny incisions. Most people are in and out of the hospital in just a couple of days and recover very quickly.

🔶We only need 1 kidney to live a healthy life! For most healthy people, it’s no big deal to give one up. 🙂

🔶If someday something did happen (very rare) and your single remaining kidney failed, there is a safety net in place to allow a past live donor to go to the very top of the transplant waiting list and get a very quick transplant.

🔶Important! If you know someone who needs a kidney transplant, you DO NOT need to actually be a match in order to donate a kidney to them! There’s an amazing system called a “paired kidney exchange” where your kidney can actually go to someone else (who you are a match for) and then someone else donates to your loved one, on your behalf. Paired kidney exchange is an incredible way for more people to receive live kidney donations.

My most memorable moments as an inpatient transplant nurse were getting a fresh post-op kidney recipient patient up to walk for the first time to see their live donor. Walking down the hall to their donor’s room, pushing their IV pole, in their little hospital gown…. seeing them see each other for the first time, knowing that the donor’s kidney is now IN the recipient and giving them a chance at a whole new life…. seeing the raw emotion and tears of gratitude….it’s just incredible. It never got old! It was so cool and always made me so glad I went into the field of transplant.

Anyway, I realized the other day that I’ve never shared much about organ donation or transplantation on my page, and thought… I should! Who knows- maybe someone out there needed to hear this. 🙂 Reach out with any questions!

On that note, off to get my work day started. I have a big Kidney Transplant Quality meeting this morning. 🙂 Have a good one!

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful that the boys + Ivan did all the snow clearing yesterday… we got like a foot of snow. Also grateful it’s going to be 70 on Saturday, so hopefully the snow will be short lived. 😉