Support Darren's Kidney Transplant

My husband, Darren, has Chronic Kidney Disease and requires a kidney transplant. His kidney problems started when he was  5 years old and resulted in 2 surgeries. The doctors felt the problem was corrected, but 30 years later it became apparent that permanent damaged had been done to his kidneys. We worked to slow down the deterioration of his kidney function with diet and medication, but 3 years ago he had to go on dialysis. He started with Peritoneal Dialysis, but had to switch to Hemodialysis after the Peritoneal stopped working.

Through all of this he has maintained a positive attitude. We work with the hand that we have been dealt and do the best that we can. We have managed to weather the up and downs  of this crazy ride on the road to a kidney transplant. We found out a few weeks ago that he was on the short list for a transplant, meaning he would probably have a transplant in a year to two years. We were not expecting to wake up to a phone call early on a Sunday morning, just weeks after that call, saying, "We have a kidney, you need to be in Vancouver by 4pm today". So we did what we do, booked a flight, got to the airport and Darren was on his way. It is all still a little surreal as it has only been 9 hours since that phone call. Darren awaits surgery today or tomorrow in Vancouver  and I am at home with our 2 children in West Kelowna.

Once the surgery is complete Darren will need to be in hospital for about a week and then stay down in Vancouver for 8 weeks. One of the biggest challenges of this is going to be having our family separated for that time. We are looking for a little support to help us get through this.

Thank you,

Staci & Darren