Time has slipped away from me.....

On Dec.10th it was one year that My Little Kidney became Our Little Kidney..... What a great year!!!! Milton is doing awesome... My health is still very good. I went to church with Brittany and Milton on the 8th of Dec. Brittany surprised me with a beautiful plaque and a lunch all for me! What a beautiful day it was...A day filled with tears of Happiness. So happy I made the choice to donate my kidney. If only I could grow more, I would!!!! As the New Year approaches let us take the time to Pay It Forward and Share Your Spare or Help Raise Awareness!!! And be thankful for our health.... With Much Love, Cynthia!!!



HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Our Ad from Thanksgiving Day!!! 4400 views now! 

 Dad, Me, Mom, Milton, Brittany, & Zarria

One Year!!!

The Plaque, LOVE IT!!! 

Beautiful Quote! 

The "Perfect Pear" Arrangement 

352 days ago...4126 views... 13 days till Dec.10th.. Almost a YEAR!!!!

Looking back, I really don't know where the time has gone..I stay so busy in life..People tend to tell me that I spread myself too thin. How can that be if I am enjoying life??? I truly LOVE LOVE LOVE life... I always try to find the good in everything. When one door shuts, another one opens, sometimes even several open... So true.. I try to be a good person, friend, mother, foster mother, partner, co-worker, employee, sibling, and a good role model... I really don't think it is that hard. Here I go, rambling again...Bottom line, I feel great!!!!
So many things have happened in this past year... I don't even know if I can begin to map it all out.. donating my little kidney, buying my second house, found out that I have amazing neighbors, getting a beautiful baby boy to foster(within a week of buying my house), meeting his mom and being able to mentor her and watch her grow, met my fabulous Lifegroup friends(SingledOut), and found out I'm going to be a grandmother...to list a few!
I thank God that He has blessed beyond measure....in so many
ways. Of course, there has been some trivial times but, I'm still standing tall... to sum it all up..This past year has been so amazing!!! I have met some fabulous people, hearing/reading their stories truly makes me so very thankful for everything that I have in life. My children, my health, my career, my friends, my love, my family, my home, my bed... Some people don't even have a home to go home to, that makes me so sad. Any of us could lose everything we have in a matter of seconds. I Thank God Daily for the everything that I have in my life... 
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.. you will find me volunteering with Other Options www.otheroptionsokc.org  , packaging Thanksgiving dinner for hundreds of people... my recipient and I will also be in the newspaper tomorrow. If our story only helps one person to decide to be an organ donor, I will be so happy... my blog has had 4,126 as of 4pm today... that is amazing... I wish I could see where everyone is from that reads our story.. post it in the comments, if you wish... if this is your first time here, please start from the beginning and pass it on to anyone you know... I created this blog to take the fear out of living organ donation and help raise awareness for the importance of becoming an organ donor... if you have any questions please feel free to ask.. :)
Thank You .and God Bless!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Cynthia (Midwest City, Oklahoma)

My new checks... thanks checkadvantage :)

Was able to print my blog address on them too :) 

Hazel Monarch

Looking good 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.... please share! 

Where does the time go????

Oct. 10th already????? 3875 views later....WOW!!!!... 10 months ago at this very moment I was in surgery.. How time flies... I am feeling better than ever.. Milton is doing AWESOME also... God is GREAT!!!!! Our story will be featured in LifeShare Oklahoma's Article on Thanksgiving Day, it will be 8 pages of amazing organ donor stories...Published in over 60 newspapers across Oklahoma... Talk about Raising Awareness...YES!!!!!.. I hope our story inspires many and allows people to see that one can live a normal everyday life with one kidney, Donor and Recipent.

As I tell people our story and share my blog address I learn of more people everyday that are in need of a Kidney ... I was visiting in Enid at my bank and one of the bank employees best friend, Julie Sloan, has been on a transplant list for two years...I am working on getting her story to share. I started going to a new dentist, Josh Brasher in Edmond, somehow my story came up, as it often does, and found out he too will need a kidney in the future. I went home and told my daughter Chelbi about our new dentist that she will be meeting soon. I also told her about him needing a kidney. She stood and asked "how old does someone have to be in order to be a living kidney donor???" I am pretty sure she will be following in my footsteps when she is able to do so. :)

Can't there be a national or state register for living organ donors, like the one they have for bone marrow. Just a thought, I have tons of those.. LOL... Always thinking... Just trying to find a solution for all the people in need of a lifesaver. The numbers are so high :(

Statistics

Statistics About Organ And Tissue Donation And Transplantation

National

Current Waiting List Candidates	118,500 (As of June 13, 2013)
Transplants in 2012	28,051
Living Donors in 2012	5,870
Deceased Donors in 2012	8,143

Oklahoma

Current Waiting List Candidates	865 (As of June 13, 2013)
Transplants in 2012	278
Living Donors in 2012	42
Deceased Donors in 2012	94

2010

	More than 120,000 Americans were waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in 2011; 863 of them were Oklahomans
	More than 6,953 Americans died waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in 2012; 65 of them were Oklahomans
	Every 11 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list
	Every day, 18 Americans die waiting for an organ transplant

For more statistics please use the following link http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/. This link will also give you statistics for each state and other useful transplant related statistics.

This is as of Today from the Link Above... Click on it and See What the numbers are when you read this... Post in a comment if you would like :)

Waiting list candidates 120,148 as of today 10:42am

Active waiting list candidates 77,136 as of today 10:42am

Transplants January - July 2013 16,669 as of 10/04/2013

Donors January - July 2013 8,215 as of 10/04/2013

Look for LifeShare Oklahoma's Section in the newspaper on Thanksgiving Day, if you don't live in Oklahoma feel free to contact me and I can get a copy to you! cynthia.decker@ymail.com 

While you are with your family during the upcoming holidays discuss your wishes of being an organ donor... Thank You for taking the time to read my blog... Sharring it is one way of making a difference and Raising Awareness... You don't have to be a living donor in order to be an advacate and make a difference!!!!

God Bless!!!!!

 Add me on Facebook : Cynthia Hernandez- Decker
 http://www.facebook.com/Cynbonia1
 or 
on Instagram:  Cherrygrl

Sara Walker, Her Story, and Her Fight to Stay Alive

In Five Days it will be 8 months since our Surgery... Milton continues to get better everyday... :) And our story reaches more people on the Daily... So far this blog has been viewed 3432 times, Amazing... Absolutely Amazing!!!
Last week on Instagram, one of my new friends Tagged me in this picture....asking if there is any place that I know of that could help Sara.... I didn't know Sara's story, other than what I read on this post....So I re posted the picture to my Instagram and Facebook asking if anyone knew of foundations that help people like this..I also email Susan (The Transplant Cordinator) and Justin (The Integris Foundation Coridinator) ..No one has had any information yet...Then I got in touch with Sara's sister Jess, the one that posted the post, and had Sara email her story.. WOW...It breaks my heart to see how people struggle on the daily... I have taken this as my mission to find Sara help... Below you will read her story and our correspondence  with each other. I am praying that this post will reach someone that will be able to help Sara. I know the post is long, please read it... Pass the blog to others.. Thank You and God Bless...

Instagram Comments:

aetsmith

2013-07-30

Can anyone in your family give her one? Or is a match?

ms_st4tus

2013-07-30

She isn't to a replacement stage yet, it's a surgery to fix her small one and if that wouldn't be successful it would be dialysis then replacing it

theycallmemoni

2013-07-30

@cherrygrl do you know of anything?

cherrygrl

2013-07-30

@theycallmemoni I will look into it... is she here in okc? I will pass this information along...

ms_st4tus

2013-07-30

@cherrygrl She lives in Kansas City Missouri

cherrygrl

2013-07-30

@ms_st4tus thank you... I will look into foundations and ask around.. let's start a fundraiser for her.. how much will she need to get the operation.. can you txt me? Cynthia 5807476271

-----Original Message-----
From: sara walker <swalker83@live.com>
To: "cynthia.decker@ymail.com" <cynthia.decker@ymail.com>
Sent: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 5:29 PM
Subject: kidneys

Hi, I'm Sara Walker, my sister Jess Solt said I should share my story with you....

Right now my story is that I'm exhausted, weak and burning up with fever.  I have a horrible kidney infection (hydronephrosis and pyelonephritis). I was in the ER 3 weeks ago for kidney stones and was told I had a uti, hydro and pyelo (all which I have had consistently for years).  I took antibiotics for 10 days and felt fine.  Then 7 days ago I got a high fever, body aches and extreme chills that have yet to go away.  Although I don't currently have any "kidney symptoms" I knew it was most likely a kidney infection.  I went to the dr and he said I had a horrible infection and gave me more antibiotics and wants me back in 10 days to see if we can at least get rid of the infection so I can function.  He also told me (I knew he would) that with the infection plus the hydro, pyelo, stones and other defects I absolutely could not put off seeing my urologist and having the recommended operations ASAP.  I totally agree..my quality of life is going down, down, down, but the problem is money.  I will never have enough money to "fix" myself.  Its not just operation and hospital costs, there's dr's office visits, labs, tests, hospitals and the fact that I would have to miss work for an extended amount of time.  I already owe many dr's, hospitals and labs so much that they won't see me until I start shelling out money.  I could easily have the operations and file medical bankruptcy (I already have 10s of thousands of medical bills that I owe), but missing work that long is just not an option.  We are a 2 income family and we need every penny of both our incomes to survive.  I know that without these operations, dr visits and test I will most likely die, and I absolutely don't want that..not now, not with a young daughter and so much more I want to do.  But I feel pretty hopeless and helpless at this point, there is no one out there that is just going to pay my bills and fix me.  I will just have to continue getting by on ER visits, antibiotics and dealing with it....until I win the lottery (too bad I can't afford to play lol).

I'll give you some background, but as I said I'm pretty sick right now...I have a fever of 102.6  so my brain may be a little fuzzy on details, dates and procedure names...

As a child/teenager I was always having UTIs, side pain (especially when running or doing other physical activity).   I saw the dr many times, but was just given an antibiotic and told I was out of shape and needed to lose weight (that's why I always was in pain).  No one ever "looked inside" to see what was really the cause, I really wish just one person would have, my life would probably be a lot better now.
When I was 18 (2001) and on my own, while at work I got very sick and was in so much pain I thought for sure I would die.  I went to the small town ER when I got home...UTI they said, antibiotics they gave and after several days with nothing to eat and barely moving from my bed I felt OK.  A few months later (we had moved to Kansas City by this point) while at work I again had tremendous pain and almost passed out.  A security guard said he thought it was kidney stones and said I had to go to the ER and have CAT scan.  So to the ER I went and kidney stones I had..lots of them.  After months of dr's office visits, tests and medicine, my urologist scheduled me for a lithotripsy.  It was successful, I guess.  I went for awhile with no pain and thought I was ok.  But then it happened again.  The same urologist ordered more tests, more procedures, more scans and after I was admitted to the hospital (in severe pain from stones) I was told that there was something "not right" with my kidneys.  My left kidney just isn't formed right (i'm sure there is a proper medical term, but I don't know it), my left ureter is small and narrow and doesn't do an effective job and my right kidney isn't so great either.  But by this point I already owed said urologist a lot of money and he didn't suggest I do anything about it.."too expensive and you've gone this long not even knowing, I'm sure you'll be ok".
Over the next several years I saw several urologists and was in the hospital several times for kidney stones.  I had lithotripsy several more times and always felt OK afterwards, but not for long. Going to the ER was no longer a rare occurrence, it was a sure thing at least once every 6 months (I would always wait until I just couldn't wait any longer...who wants to go to the hospital? who wants to ruin someone's day by making them take me? who wants to miss work/holidays/plans?)   Sometimes I was stented and kept in the hospital for a few days then sent home so I could either have lithotripsy again or just wait it out in hopes that stones passed.  Sometimes they would just pump me up with fluids and pain meds and I was sent home.  I could deal with it and after a while I just got used to always having pain in my sides.  During these years of dr's visits and lithotripsies no one ever mentioned the actual state of my kidneys or their function (or lack there of so it turns out).  It was always just the same thing over and over.  Medicine, stents, lithotripsy, ER visits, tests, dr's visits....BILLS BILLLS BILLS. I had used up a whole years worth of FMLA in just a few months, but I just couldn't work in severe pain and discomfort.  I was able at one point to pay off a small chunk of my bills and stay healthy for about 9 months.
In 2006 I had gone through the same lithotripsy, stent, scans routine 2 times consecutively...and then I got pregnant.  Luckily for me and my baby my kidneys held up...almost all the way through.  I saw my urologist when my monthly/weekly urinalysis kept coming back with infection (ecoli, white blood cells) he sent me for more scans..hydronephrosis was the verdict and I was scheduled for surgery.  The day I was supposed to have the operation the urologist (from the same group, just not one I had personally seen before), was first told it was the right side, when I had been told left...because of the confusion, the fact I was pregnant and the fact that to him it wasn't that bad (no worse to him than in other pregnant women) he called off the surgery.  I went on to have my baby and had a pretty uneventful few months.  I had some pain, but was used to it so I dealt with it. As a stay at home mom, I had no insurance so I just put up a good front and tried to be strong when I felt the familiar kidney pain.  By November 2007, Thanksgiving day to be exact I was so sick that I thought I actually might die right there on the couch.  I finally gave in and went to the ER, kidney stones, infection, pneumonia and phlebitis.  I spent a week in the hospital mostly sleeping and was pretty sure I'd die. Because I was so unhappy with the urologist group that had just kept lithotripsying me I told the hospital the name of my first urologist instead...I mean at least he did see that there were things not right in there.  I got a stent and after a few more weeks I went to his office to have it removed and see what the next step was.  Before I even saw the dr I was told I had to pay a $300 balance from years ago...I didn't have the money, but they didn't care. No money, no dr.  I cried, I begged, and cried more until the dr finally agreed he'd at least remove the stent.  He did and then he sent me away..no more help from him until I had insurance and cash.
For the next few years I just dealt with the pain, went to the ER when it got real bad (mainly so I could get pills, so I could avoid having to go back).  I taught myself some breathing techniques, used a heating pad, drank lots of water, slept with all kinds of pillows to ease my pain and rationed out the pain pills I had collected after all my ER visits and surgeries.  I managed.  I managed until July 2009 I HAD to go to the ER...I was severely dehydrated, sicker than ever and in horrible pain, I couldn't take care of myself or my daughter I had to get help.  Because I owed so much money and had no insurance I went to the hospital down town that I was told worked with people if they couldn't pay.  I was admitted, got a stent and sent home 2 days later.  When I returned for my follow up visit they wanted to know how I'd be paying....well I was hoping to get some assistance. I filled out forms and saw the dr, who apparently had been told of my financial situation.  He didn't want to touch me...I might not be able to pay him if he actually did something.  So I was sent home..stent still in.  I tried and tried to get the info I needed to the right people, but no one wanted to help me and the hospital just wanted their money, they didn't like that I had a boyfriend that had a job..in their eyes he should just pay my bill (they didn't seem interested in the fact that he was the only one working and it took every bit of his check to cover rent, bills, food, clothes, diapers etc).  So after a while I just gave up.  I had a stent in and lived with it.
In 2010 I went to school and started a new job thankfully my kidneys didn't bother me too much (I still had the constant aches in my side, but by this time I was so used to it I barely noticed).  By the end of 2010 beginning of 2011 though I was really feeling rough.  I had no energy and was always hurting bad.  I hadn't been at my job long though so I just put on a brave face.  I would come in racked with fever and pain everyday, I had the nurses giving me as much Tylenol and ibuprofen as I could get.  I was calling in more and more and was scared I'd lose my job, my boss actually called me to see if I was working somewhere else instead.  A few days later I was in the ER...kidney stones, lots of them, everywhere.  I cried to my boss because I was scared, scared I'd be fired for missing so much work and being so useless when I was there.   I was told not to worry, they wouldn't fire me and to just get help.  I found a nurse that had had lots of kidney problems herself and she recommended a urologist.  He was a popular guy so it took me some time to get in, but I was hopeful he would be what I needed.  Around this same time I was having some vision problems, I would see spots or things floating in front of me and when I bent down I would go completely blind..everything was black.  I assumed I just needed new glasses, it had been a while.  My vision got worse, my kidney pain got worse and I was a mess.  I had never been so scared.  Once I finally got in to the urologist I told him everything...failed stents, lithotripsies, hospitalizations, ER visits, what all the other urologists had said, supposed birth defects..everything.  I ended with the kicker..I had an almost 2 year old stent in me. He was appalled...he'd never heard of someone having so many problems and couldn't believe I'd had a stent for that long.  He was sure it had probably crystalized and grown to me.  He had me do some scans in his office and then  we sat down to talk about options.  I told him flat out I wouldn't do lithotripsy or "try a few things to see what happened" I wanted to be cut open and have the stones taken out..bottom line! He actually agreed. He set up a percutaneous stone and stent removal for 3 weeks later.  I was ecstatic, I thought this would finally be the end of my problems. During the 3 wks before surgery I had several tests run (all of them saying that my kidneys were just no good) and I also visited the eye dr.  The dr I saw looked at me with that "something is very very wrong" look. He saw something not right with my eyes and told me I should see a neuro-opthamologist in their group.  Freaked out I googled what he said was wrong (enlarged optic nerves), of course I was sure I'd die...MS, Cancer, tumors it was all bad news.  A week before my kidney surgery I saw the neuro-opthamologist, he diagnosed me with pseudo tumor cerebri and scheduled me for a spinal tap 6 wks after my surgery and he wanted me to start taking medicine 5 times a day forever to try and help.  By this time I was almost totally blind, I couldn't drive, I couldn't watch TV everything was a blurry blob and I couldn't even focus on people's faces anymore.  I still worked though, I told my boss what all was wrong and she just said "oh that's too bad" and went on.  So I relied on my coworker who did most of my work for me.  He would have me only do tasks that didn't require much effort and would help me get up and down the halls, often guiding me like I was blind.
March was almost over and it was finally time for my operation.  I was ready to get it over with.  I went in and was prepped....during this time I was already a little loopy from meds, but I was sure to tell my urologist about the PTC (he had been on vacation so this was my first opportunity) he wasn't happy with me, but we got started anyways.  After the first procedure (the placing of the tube into my back that would be used to do the operation) my dr talked to me, I was highly sedated and only remember bits and pieces.  I heard low to no renal function, dialysis, very sick...then I was completely out and on my way to the next procedure.  After it was all over I was sore and didn't feel great, but I was excited that it was over and successful! After a few days I went to get my tube removed (it had been doing the work of my kidney since surgery) then I was told I could go home that next morning.  I went down for the tests and removal...again pretty sedated I heard the concern in the nurses voices.  My kidney just wasn't functioning, if they took the tube out there would be no functioning kidney in the left side. I was sent back upstairs and they tried again the next day and the next day. Finally they said I had to go..they'd unhook the drainage bag and leave the tube in and I'd come back in a week to see if my function had increased.  I was beyond nervous..how was I supposed to do anything with a fat tube hanging out of me, I couldn't even wear pants, and it leaked...I felt like a freak.  I went home and slept upright on doggie pee pads so I didn't leak on the furniture, I did as little as possible (not that there was much I could do with no pants and a tube hanging out of me anyways) and just begged God to let my kidney work again.  When I went in for my follow up they were able to remove the tube, the nurses were all still very concerned about the function and warned me to never drink alcohol again..."you'll die for sure" they said.  I immediately went to my urologist and he inspected the incision and talked about what was next.  It was decided that I'd just keep changing the dressings myself and come back in 3 wks.  When I came back he was impressed with my healing, but said he would need me to see another dr in his practice, one that specialized in the issues I had..not good. I made an appointment  though.  I went home and recovered well from the surgery I had a funny scar, but felt great! I thought I'd finally be ok.  I had the spinal tap (a botched one that led to severe illness, 2 blood patches, 2 more weeks off from work and a fear of neurologists), was on my meds for my brain (my vision improved greatly, very quickly) and feeling good! Of course though it didn't last long, one month later I was back in the ER. Kidney stones, hydro, pyelo...AGAIN. They sent me home with meds and it was almost time for my appointment with the new urologist anyways.  He said I absolutely needed an operation...my kidney function was just no good. I went for more tests that confirmed my left kidney was pretty useless and my poor right kidney had been doing all the work for so long it too was shot and that ureter on the left was a sad little thing, barely big enough for urine to pass let alone stones. I saw the dr again and he said we needed to schedule surgery or 3 (reconstruction or possibly removal of my left, reconstruction and mending of my right and something had to be done with that pesky ureter as well)...but I had just missed 8 wks of work and had tons of new medical bills I couldn't pay.  I told him I couldn't do it.  He said I must, but he understood and told me to come back in 6 months to schedule it....I haven't seen him since.
For the last 2 years I've done pretty well.  I lost 30 lbs and my PTC is considered in remission (no more pills!) Only 5 ER visits and everytime, once they got me hydrated and some meds I was ok and didn't have the pain anymore.  Then3 wks ago at my ER visit the dr actually showed great concern about the pyelo and hrdyo...she said I must follow up with my urologist soon.  Easier said than done...
And that leads to where I am now.  Day 7 of a high fever, body aches, chills, nausea and just starting today (probably because of the dr poking around) side pain on both sides.  This is a new doctor and he's totally different from anyone I've seen before.  He is very concerned, but is determined to at least get rid of my infection and get me to the urologist.

I'm scared. I know I already owe this urologist, the lab and the hospital they use tons of money.  How can I see them if I can't pay them for the old stuff.  This is my conflict.  I can't get anything done until I pay, but I fear I will die from  what is making me sick now before I ever get enough money.  If I do make it and get the operations how will I pay my bills? Will we lose our house? Will we ever financially recover?
It's just so hard...

I don't know who you are or why you wanted to know my story, but you have it (and I know its a long one) so hopefully something good will come from this.

Thanks
Sara Walker  

 On Jul 30, 2013, at 6:35 PM, cynthia.decker@ymail.com wrote:

Sara, your story breaks my heart... someone on Instagram tagged me in a post your sister(Jess) posted... I'm going to do everything in my power to get you help...
Your new friend,
Cynthia
91:11
Live with Love!

Thanks for caring...really not many people know my whole story and no one really understands.  It's not as easy as people think to "get things taken care of".

Sara 

Six Months.. Half a Year....

 Six months today I donated my little kidney... I can't believe it has already been this long... At times it seems as though it was yesterday, at other times, it seems like it was years ago...

The common question from people is: "Do you feel any different?" I don't feel different physically.. but I feel good to know that I was able to give Someone their husband back.. Someone their dad back... Someone their son back.. Someone their brother back... Someone their Life back...And to see the accomplishments Milton has made...God is the reason all of this was possible.., " On Sunday the 9th, Milton had his installation to became a preacher. Sunday the 16th, I will sit in his church and listen to him spread the word of God. I am so grateful that God has allowed me and Milton to cross paths. God is GREAT!!!! 

Thank you to everyone that continues to read my blog and help to spread the word on the importance of Donating Life.

121 Days... That's 4 Months.

What an amazing 4 months!!!!  Everything is healing the way it is supposed to, I feel Great and Milton is doing great, as well!  The Car Wash was fun. I stayed the whole day, 8am-8pm.Handing out Flyers and Thank You to every car that came thru..Dr. Allum, Susan, Berta as well as others came thru the Carwash(Berta actually came thru twice)  $1200 was raised. How amazing!!! I can't say Thank You enough to Aqua Espress Car Wash- Dave & John.

I got to pick up the check from the Aqua Express yesterday. John and Dave had a huge check printed out for photos. They really went out of their way, They ROCK!!! My Brother-n-Law Darryl made me some really cool paracord awareness bracelets( I will attach a photo) I love love love it!!!! I want to Thank LifeShare for the Goodies that I was able to pass out... The little green donor bracelets found there way all over OKC, as well as other places. It makes me smile :) My blog has now been read 2816 times.High Five to everyone that has taken time out of their busy schedule to read it. THANK YOU!!!!  

Well going to close up now... I have several pictures to post....God Bless Each and Every One of  You! 

Add caption

When I met Dave

This Billboard 

Dave and John Really went all out! 

Dr. Allum and Berta

Susan!!!!

The Packets I put together (info about Organ Donation and Integris Foundation)

Me with Jistin ( Integris Foundation) and John( Aqua Express Car Wash)

Dr. Samara, Me, and Susan

I Love this HUGE Check!!

Where did the time go?

Today marks 3 months.... I can't believe it!!! Time has just passed through my hands like sand.. I'm feeling great! I had my check up blood work on Thurs., everything checked out great. These last three months have been such an amazing journey. I have been blessed to meet some amazing and generous people. Wednesday the 13th the owners of Aqua Express Car Wash(6922 N. May OKC) are donating the whole days sales to me. I am allowed to give them to whatever charity or cause I want. I chose Integris Foundation. At IF they listen to how you would like the funds distributed. I would like the money to benefit donors and recipients that can't afford the travel or time off of work... Maybe they can't afford the few medications that you have to get before or after the surgery.. I'm hoping the car wash will be a top day in sales for Aqua Express... I have been passing the word. I made flyers to pass around. Susan the transplant coordinator is also going to pass them around to the transplant center employees. I have also contacted LifeShare Oklahoma, they are giving me donor cards, brochures, and green bracelets to pass out. Justin at Integris has been a huge help also. It's sometimes overwhelming to think about all the lives that can be touched with simple gesture. God is Great!!!! Oh one of the girls that has signed up to be a living donor gets her first round of blood work on weds also. She has B blood type which is rare. She is going to be able to bless someone's life soon. She wants to plan to have her surgery after June. So amazing!!!
Thanks for reading and passing my blog around.. It has been viewed over 2500 times :-) .. God Bless!!!

11 Weeks

Not much to report here... I did get to help celebrate Milton's 27th Birthday and Met some of his family! It was awesome to finally meet them. Milton is doing great!!!
I have turned in MyStory at LifeChurch.tv so we will see what happens with that. On Feb. 13th I met an owner  of Aqua Express Car Wash, Dave, they just opened a new location at 6922 N. May in Oklahoma City... And he is going to donate a Full day of SALES to me to use to help raise awareness. I will be donating the money to Integris Transplant Center. I want to help potential living donors that are not able to afford taking off work for surgery or testing. I have picked March 13 to be the day of carwash, this would have been my dads 70th birthday. I can't wait to see how much money we can raise. I am trying to spread the word for sure. https://www.facebook.com/events/312659725523175/ You can see the event I created on FaceBook. I'll keep this up to date on how it goes. God Bless!

Feeling great...

Today marks two months...The incision is looking great.. No pain, still tender around the scar(will be for a while) my appetite is completely back to normal..I have a check up with Dr.Patel, liver doctor, on Thursday the 14th...We received good news on Ashlynn, she still has positive antibodies for Lupus..but does not have the disease... Life is great!!!! Milton is doing great as well... He was able to go back to church and preach last week.. I even read on Brittany's Facebook about them having a night out :-) ... At church this morning our campus pastor Brian asked me if I would go to the LifeChurch website and tell my story.. He wants Craig to be able to see it and possibly feature My Story... This would be HUGE... Talk about raising awareness...According to the Internet LifeChurch.tv has over 100,000 online viewers a week... In over 120 countries.. Then you have all the campuses... WOW!!! Super excited... So let the camera roll and get this story out there!!! I thank God daily for the life he has given me and that I was able to share part of me to help a fellow man.. This has been such an amazing journey.. I want to THANK everyone that has been part of my dream to donate life... THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart... God Bless!
Update: 02/14/13- Dr. Patel has released me from his care.

6 wks post op..

I can't even believe it has been six weeks.. I feel awesome today.. The last few days I have actually felt 99.9%... My iron was a little low today when i went to donate blood, so i didn't get to donate..I am having no pain.. The incision is a little tight on the inside.. My back is much better.. I am also getting out of my funk that I've been in too.. The funk was pretty crazy, I just feel blah.. Laying around.. Being tired.. Not going out as much.. This isn't only from my surgery.. I feel it is from only working one job.. The surgery...along with a few other things..overall it's getting better:-) I am still in love with life.. I started a 21 day creating abundance meditation challenge this morning... It will be interesting to see what this journey brings..
I have heard that Milton is doing really good.. There are no signs of FSGS so that is great news!