The masters plan

I wanted to write this yesterday but I didn't have the time. So I will write it today.

Three years ago yesterday we received the greatest gift ever. This gift was given to us unselfishly and anonymously. This gift had no strings attached and we were to receive this gift with the most grateful hearts that anyone could have. It was the gift of an organ, the gift of life.

As we know Kayden was born with hypoplastic kidney, or small kidneys. They stopped growing in utero. He went through a lot the first two years of his life. He had to take numerous medications like growth hormones, because kidneys help you grow; salt, because your body needs salt and his kidney filtered it out; epogen injection, his kidneys stopped producing a hormone called erythropoetin that produced red blood cells and we had to give those red blood cells to him aritificially; and of course he had a feeding tube because he never wanted to eat.

I vividly remember giving him his medications (specifically his growth hormone shot) and thinking after tomorrow I won't have to do this anymore. This is the last time I have to give him an injection. We were also told that even though he would be better from his transplant we were really only trading one set of issues for a different set of issues. At the time I didn't understand exactly what they meant by that but now I do.

We had to be at the hospital at 6 am on November 14 to get ready for surgery. They figured he would go in for surgery around 8 a.m. but it all depended on the donors family. Things had not been finalized so we were really waiting on them. As it came closer to 10 the nurses and docs came in and said it would be longer since it was taking longer on the donor side of things. The didn't know how long but they would let us know. We had to keep that little 2 year old entertained all day long. The one good thing about him having kidney failure is that he never really got hungry but he did want to have a drink and they allowed him a few sips every once in a while but not a lot. It was a really long day but finally at 4 p.m. they came in and said that it was time. I carried him to the operating room and then our child life specialist carried him the rest of the way. She was going to stay with him for a while. She took our camera and got some pictures of him before the surgery in the operating room. She also got the coolest picture ever of the kidney that would be going inside him.

Kayden was in surgery for about 4 hours. They kept me posted on how he was doing and his status during the surgery. I remember them telling me that the kidney was in and that it fit perfectly and that as soon as they got it in it started working right away. It was as if that kidney was meant for him. I was so blessed and so grateful for what we had been given.

I tried to get as much information as I could about the donor but due to HIPPA regulations they were not able to give me much information. But this is what I did get out of them: the donor was a 17 year old who had been in a car accident. It was a local resident and the family was at the University hospital. The surgeon that harvested the organs from the donor was the same surgeon who put the organ into Kayden. I had many mixed emotions that day. I was SO EXCITED that my son was getting a transplant but I also was so sad for the family that was losing their loved one. I was torn between being happy and feeling sad. I didn't know if it was ok to be happy for someone else to lose their child so that mine could live. It was wrong but so right. I hope that they understand why we were so happy in their time of sorrow.

Kayden was officially listed on the transplant list on November 7, 2006. We received a call from our transplant coordinator on November 13, 2006 and he was transplanted on November 14, 2006. He had been listed for a total of 7 days. Kayden's blood type was AB so he is considered the universal recipient. Because of this and the fact that he was 2 years old at the time put his name higher on the transplant list.

When Kayden went in for his surgery his creatinine level was 2.6. His whole life he had never had a creatinine level lower than 2.0. The next morning after his surgery his creatinine level was at .4. He had never had that good of kidney function his whole life until that point. Today his level is around .3 to .5 depending on what has been happening.

I have felt from the start of this whole experience that his kidneys failing when it did was for a reason. When I found out I was pregnant our dietician told me now lets hope that Kayden kidney will last until that baby is born. I thought of course it will he has been hanging in there already and I figured we had a few years before he would need a transplant. Well, the moment he hit the weight that was required for transplant which was 23 pounds was the moment his kidneys started to get worse. This started in August, but in the meantime I had to have a baby. So we did the blood work and all the prep and we were waiting until I had my baby to put him on the transplant list because they knew he would come up fast on the list. I had Koy on October 10 and we waited until the end of the month for me to recover before we were told to list him. He was listed on November 7 and transplant on November 14. He was just over 2 years old and I had a 1 month old baby with me.

I also feel that the Lord's hand was in the whole thing. I have often felt like the kidney that Kayden received was from someone that he knew in the spirit world. I feel like that person and Kayden had a special bond and that kidney was always meant for Kayden. I am always reminded of this story:

"I found my friend

The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occured during Scarament Meeting and was told to me by a Regional Representative of the twelve, who was in the meeting. A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in Sacrament Meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony. "My Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting I had a dream I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled the same excitment and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a very dear friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life. As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitment my friend and I opened the letter I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. The letter said: You have been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born into the true church, and you will have the priesthood of God in you home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty-a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America. "My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call. And while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. The letter said: You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be frought with political and social difficulties which will hinder the word of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica. We wept, my friend and I as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "when we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, come and find me." Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes, said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica. There is a special sequel to this story. About a year after this Sacrament Meeting, the Bishop to this Ward received a letter form the Missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on the sheet was written in inch-high letter four word: I FOUND MY FRIEND."

I often think that this is something that happened with Kayden and his donor. That they knew each other before hand and that they were best friends. That Heavenly Father knew this and planned everything accordingly. It was all part of the master plan. How grateful I am for that master plan. I may be completely wrong but I often get that comforting feeling when I think of this.

If you want to see some pics go to this post and scroll all the way down to the bottom.