Carriage House Plans: Kidney Transplant List

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Kidney Transplant List

My world-renowned transplant surgeon cradled the chalk-white kidney in his hands and seconds later, the mustachioed, rock ‘n’ roll music-loving doctor transformed this lifeless organ into a beating, crimson red, living organ. Blood squirted up like a small fountain. A concerned Dr. Montgomery looked up at me and asked, “Are you okay?” I assured him I was fineI was witnessing a miracle and experiencing one of the most surreal moments of my life. On October 2, 2007, I had the opportunity to see what my body went through while under anesthetic when I received my kidney transplant on August 13, 2002. I have not only lived the miracle of transplantation, but I have also seen it.I stood on a stool at the head of the patient’s bed in Carnegie Room 724, aka Operating Room #4 in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. I had been invited by my transplant surgeon to witness a bird’s-eye view of a kidney transplant operation. I peered inside the deep pit of the woman’s body and was overwhelmed with emotions thinking how far I have come and proud of what my body has endured.