I am going to start at the very beginning of a very long journey. Last December shortly before the holidays I learned that I was a kidney match to my mom. I was very excited.
In the middle of January my screening process began- Boy! Are they thorough. During the screening test I found out that I am the proud owner of 3 kidneys. It all seemed meant to be. The following week when I returned to Lifelink to meet with the various doctors to complete my screening process I was sent back to the hospital for another test. Apparently my chest x-ray was bad. It looked like my pulmonary arteries where enlarged. The doctor explained to me that there were many reasons for this (probably breathing while the image was captured) and not to be alarmed.
The cat scan that was done of my chest showed that my pulmonary arteries are just fine, but they found 3 enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (between your lungs). At that point Lifelink put me on hold and sent me to my doctor. I was referred to a pulmonologist who hoped to rule out any problems with a PET Scan, so such luck! Last week, I had a procedure called a Mediastinoscopy. The surgeon took an up close look at the lymph nodes and biopsied 2 of them.
The results of the biopsy showed that it was nothing for which it was tested. But because lymph nodes are not supposed to be enlarged they have defaulted to a diagnosis of Sarcoidosis. Today I have learned that as a result of this possibility(of having Sarcoidosis) I have been declined as a kidney donor.
It has been a huge let down- I really believed that in the end it was all going to work out… I know it will-I just won’t be the one making the donation. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming that we find a match soon.
Jay
