Jean Wood

Stephen Wood Needs A LIVING Kidney DONOR

Stephen and I have been Married for 40 years and Dated for 4 years before this. I married him knowing he was in kidney failure since the age of 9 years old but was able to function with out dialysis until 1987 when arriving home I found in very close to death as his Kidneys had failed and his blood pressure had dropped so low I could not get a reading this is when we started Dialysis for the first time. During this time he was very sick as his reaction to dialysis was not very good he had dialysis for almost 2 years before on a snowy day in December we got the call of a lifetime the call that a kidney match had been found and get to Portland ASAP. That was almost 31 years ago and we have lived with this gift of live that a family had chosen to give. We love to camp and 4 wheel in the great Maine woods, hunt, fish. I admire his willingness to get every day and work hard to support our family and the love he has for his sons, daughter in law and our grandchildren. He will start dialysis next week the gift we were given 31 years ago has finally stopped working. We are looking and praying for a living donor

Stephen has started dialysis again he goes 3 times a week to the center, the amount of fluid that they are getting off is from 3 to 9 pounds at a time. He is back to a strict diet and fluid intake he has received his fistula and will be able to use it in a couple of more weeks. Then the temporary port will be able to come out. ( the temp port can not get wet so he has to be very careful.

With kidney failure your life changes, Stephen does not feel well and each day is a struggle just to get out of bed in the morning, but he does. His legs swell from all the fluid and all of the other things that a normal kidney would filter out. A new kidney would mean that Stephen would be able to see his grandchildren grow up (they are very close to him) best buddies - We are very grateful for the family that gave us 30 years together and we are hoping that we will receive another kidney soon. We have been told that we could wait 5 years for one. The life expectancy of a donated kidney is 10 to 15 years we doubled this. Well being on Dialysis you are tied to your dialysis center as you have to go every other day. While dialysis is helping him feel a little better it is not a cure. We are still hoping and praying for a new kidney. A gift of life.

Please share our story with your friends and family - so many people are waiting for transplant and we all can help and spread the word. If you would like to donate please contact the Organ Donation team at Maine Medical Center in Portland Maine. If you would like to be a Organ Donor after your death make sure your family knows of your wishes and also sign a donor card. Thank you for taking the time to read about what we have and are going to go through.

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