A Journey into the Unknown

A little over a year ago I gave away something I never would have imagined giving away in a million years! I gave away a part of me... literally. Yes I gave a kidney to my boyfriends best friend April 12, 2017. The surgery and transplant was a success and my boyfriends best friend continues to amaze his doctors with how well he is doing. I on the other hand went through some tough ish times and this is the story of my journey back into a healthier and happier me. This journey is still continuing and will be for a very long time as I continue to grow and figure out what is important to me. My view on life has changed considerably since the surgery and I feel like this view is going to make me... a better me! After the surgery I ran into some snags with my actual health and the healing post surgery so my growth during this time was a wee stunted. It was about 2 1/2, almost 3 months before I could start doing any exercise besides my daily walks and lifting anything other than 5 lbs. Once I could start back at things I certainly did, and before you ask... yes I knew to go slowly and safely and I did so, even if it was irritating. Even now, just over a year later I still find some things tough. Besides the physical aspects there were also the health aspects, mainly my internal health and gut healing. Post surgery I found certain things difficult and uncomfortable and not what I knew of my constitution pre-surgery. The surgeons and nurses at the living donor clinic did warn me that things internally may take a bit to go back to normal as they did traumatize and remove a major organ. I had started with a nutritionist prior to my organ donation and have continued with her even as we speak. We tried several different eliminations and finally the beginning of this year I did the elimination diet. Not only did I feel better and healthier, my energy, skin and overall health improved. I have successfully reintroduced some items back into my diet and will continue to add more items. As my health improves and my fitness improves, now I just need to get back into that rhythm and routine I know.

During the whole process of organ donation I found out a lot about myself and also a lot in regards to the people around me. People I never really expected to reach out, reached out; and people who I expected to be there weren’t. It’s quite interesting when going through something like this, where technically I could have died (yes I had to sign a waiver and have a living will and all that Jazz) and seeing who was there. All in all a lot has changed with my outlook on life, and I hope it is for the positive.

There are several people who helped or supported me throughout the process and I am thankful everyday for that. I recently got laid off from my full time job and am now enjoying my “me” time which includes a lot more “me” time than I have seen in a long time. Between the surgery and being laid off I am now on an unknown journey which can is both scary and fun! Let’s do this!