I thought this was fantastic. I got to sit in a room with the nephrologist, both my surgeons, and my coordinator! I met my second surgeon for the first time that day and shared some great laughs as they asked me to sign away my kidney. Literally! You sign a paper saying you are willing to give away your organ via surgery!

It was incredible to receive so many kind notes from people, comments on Instagram and Facebook; even some from people we had never met before! What a crazy emotion to experience all of that and to know that we had a village around the globe rooting for us. We were overwhelmed with love.

I hung up the phone and FaceTimed Jeff immediately. As soon as he picked up, I just blurted out “September 19th” with a grin frozen on my face. I wasn’t making any sense, of course, so I had to catch my breath and explain what just happened. We were both beyond words, but knew that we’d be spending the rest of our day communicating to family and making plans.

We both loved Ciancio from the minute we met him. Very lighthearted and kind, putting us both at ease as he answered all the questions we had. He assured us we were following the safest path, and that they would take care of whatever needs we might have.

I am truly grateful for friends who have been through their own hard times. It is not a joy to know that pain is everywhere, but when people understand your pain from a place of experience, it is the best kind of comfort. You don’t feel like a burden to open your heart to them and discuss your trauma and needs.

This was a huge transition Jeff was about to go through; as this extension of his arm had been with him for nearly 18 years! We arrived shortly before 9am and began the check-in process. My heart felt heavy as I was imagining how big a deal this was, but they’d told us it would be an out-patient procedure.

We ended up getting a hotel afterward because he was too weak to travel home! With kidney function so low already, it takes much longer for the anesthesia to flush out of his system, so it was best to let him rest. Plus I felt safer with him resting in the hospital, in case anything else came up or didn’t go as planned with his recovery.

And I wasn’t wronged. The moment she walked in the room, I felt her friendliness and relaxed energy as a blanket of safety! We talked about my mom’s history with cancer, as that was my initial concern.

There went Friday. But I had to calmly remind myself, and I want to remind you too, that mistakes happen. Everyone has a job to do, and none of us are perfect. I don’t want to wonder whose “fault” it was. These people are doing the work of angels, and we need to give some grace!

First stop, the laboratory! 22 vails of blood. I felt the life sucked out of me as my left hand began to feel cold. As the recipient, Jeff also had to have blood drawn today. So we both got a patient bracelet! His sample would be needed for the cross-match test, to see how his blood reacted to mine. Isn’t science fascinating?!

When the test results finally reached me two days later, I had been checking my email hourly. I was as nervous as a cat on hot bricks! I had never looked at a blood type test before, but the moment that page finally loaded, I read each line carefully.

This class was the start to something much bigger for us. Jeff could still end up on dialysis again, or decline faster than we could control. We had no way of knowing! We just knew we had to get the process started and hope for the best. After such a long day, I didn’t log in until the next morning to fill out my Living Donor application. It was exciting and emotional!

Today, we are attending an introductory class. Jeff would need to begin his application for the Kidney Transplant Waiting List as a recipient! The education process is vital, as it helps you mentally and physically begin to prepare yourself for this very strange phase of your life.

I grew up in a very “homemade in the kitchen” family, so going back to my roots to help my hubby’s health was kind of exciting for me! I collect recipes constantly and always want to try something new. But this really put me in the challenge. I can’t believe how far we’ve come!

In late March of 2021, Jeff was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. It was one of those things where they see your lab work and you get a phone call saying “if you can be here in three hours to admit yourself, that would be wise”. Something wasn’t right, and they wanted to troubleshoot it as soon as possible.

To begin, I married this wonderful man who has spent his life pushing through an overabundance of medical hardships.

This story is to tell you how I became his living kidney donor, and just how we did it!

Jeff Gammons is his name, and he is my whole world. You’ll see.