End of an Era

Wheeling out the dialysis system

Sixteen years ago, when I found out that I had Multiple Myeloma, I discovered that my kidneys had been severely damaged. Every version of Multiple Myeloma is a little different. Mine created an abundance of light chain proteins. They are long and skinny but not skinny enough to easily pass through the kidneys. As a result, the filter tubes of the kidneys get clogged and die. My kidneys were only operating at about 15% of their normal efficiency.

For the next 13 years, I babied them, staying well hydrated and staying away from artificial colors, soda, and alcohol. Initially, they recovered slightly eventually getting back to 33% efficiency, but I could never get them any better.  Because I never really had extended periods of remission of the cancer, the kidneys could never recover and gradually worsened. Then 2 ½ years ago I contracted Rotavirus and my kidneys finally gave up. At the time, it looked like I would be tied to a dialysis machine for the rest of my life.

The last dialysis treatment

Then the miracles started. After my extended stay in the hospital in 2022 I found that I was in remission. My doctor only thought it would last a few months. However, to all of our surprise, I am still in complete remission. The MM isn’t gone but it certainly is hiding with no evidence that it will return anytime soon. Then in a routine visit with a cardiologist in January, he suggested that I look into a transplant. This is a concept that we never considered because we were under the impression that I would need to be in remission for five years for this to happen. But the rules had changed and after getting a thumbs up from my oncologist we started the process.

After dozens of tests and meetings, I was finally approved for the transplant in September. We were then off to the races. After Julia was approved to donate her kidney to me, we were able to schedule the operations in November.

For the last two weeks, we have been taking it easy around the house. Justin and Jason were our babysitters around the clock for the first 10 days. We would not have been able to do this without them.  We are slowly getting better. Julia has had more issues than I have probably because they had to make 8 incisions due to scar tissue. She has good days and bad days. I have been far luckier as I only had one incision and am a little better each day.

I have been getting blood tests three times a week as they adjust my anti-rejection meds. Immediately after the surgery, my hemoglobin dropped significantly, and I had to get a transfusion eventually. However, today my hemoglobin was up for the third straight test. The kidney seems to like its new surroundings and is helping the body create more blood. Things are definitely looking up.

So today was the official end to my dialysis adventure as US Renal picked up their equipment and returned it to the warehouse. Not sure I would have made it this far if I had to do my dialysis in-center. The ability to do it at home was a Godsend. Julia was more than my nurse, she was my rock. And then on top of it all, she gave me a kidney. How lucky am I?