Still looking for Live Organ Donor

I'm the baby in this picture, and Chris is in white at the left of this photo.

When I called him to say "Happy birthday",  I noticed I'd received an email, not two seconds after I hung up the phone.

The email: a woman in California whose life partner is on dialysis, has offered to donate her kidney to my brother Chris (she matches his blood type) - if she can find a type O (negative) donor for her life partner whose kidney has also failed.

SO WE STILL NEED A TYPE O KIDNEY to make this swap work! 

If you know of anyone who might be interested in being part of this amazing connection, please let me know  on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mybrotherskidney

Or here: katiegeehicks (at) gmail (dot) com

Testing for kidney donation

Here's Chris and me and Andrew at Christopher's daughter, Siobhan's wedding a few years ago, before he knew he had kidney disease. It's a silent disease, so many many people don't know they have it. Have you tested yourself? You ought to, as there are things you can do to help your kidneys while they are still  working for you.

You can see more about Siobhan's beautiful wedding here. Cut & paste in your browser. It was a great day.
www.onemansfamilydigressions.blogspot.com/2008/09/siobhans-beautiful-wedding-august-23.html

It’s not as simple as saying “I’ll test to see if I qualify to donate my kidney,” but that’s a start. Recently, one of my sisters tested for him, but was disqualified. Another brother already tested and after a year and a half of every kind of probing was disqualified for random physical impossibilities. I have already tested out for the same reason that another brother was ineligible - high blood pressure. It's probably the single biggest factor in getting kidney disease. If you have high blood pressure, take your meds. Change something about your high pressure lifestyle. Get tested for kidney disease.

There are a lot of ways to be disqualified from donating your kidney. 

Most of the reasons you may or may not qualify are not in your control.

Your blood type has to match. Your genetic make up has to match to a certain threshold. (And based on that, medical professionals determine the chances of Christopher’s body rejecting the kidney of the potential donor.) You have to be in good health. If you have high blood pressure, you are at risk of getting kidney disease. Etc. The etcetera for donating a kidney is a long list so most people who test don't actually end up giving their kidney.

One of my brothers has already donated his other good kidney to a sister whose kidney also failed about fifteen years ago. There are thirteen living children in this generation of our family, but there are only three of those siblings who could be considered eligible, and I’m not even sure about that. The thing is, it's a personal decision. It's so personal.

Our brother Greg died from complications of kidney disease, and I really don't want Chris to die any time soon.That's Greg on the left of the pic above, looking proud about something. Chris is in the front, with me close behind.

Here's a pic of me and Chris at Greg's burial

Here's a website with more information about kidney disease and prevention:

https://www.kidney.org






Here's my website, where you can contact me if you're interested in testing for Chris: www.caitlinhicks.com

Meet my brother, Chris

 

I’d like you to meet my brother Christopher. He might describe himself as a God-fearing, right wing Republican who blames Obama for everything that annoys him, but I would say there are 2 things I like most about him. 

His heart and his sense of humor. He has a soft heart and a corny sense of humor. He is open to some of life’s lessons. That’s a lot to say for someone. 

Chris and our brother Greg enlisted in the Navy on the same day. The whole family was there, including our father who was a Commander at the time. That's Chris, standing next to Daddy. I'm next to the flag, the girl with the bangs.

So then he was deployed to Vietnam as a Radioman, (and I just learned this), he volunteered for a 2^nd tour of duty when his first tour was up.

Here he is many years ago, returning from his first tour of duty, when we were all younger and Daddy and Mother were still alive. Below,  Chris and his girlfriend, Nora Marcheck (who went to St. Andrew's High with Mary & me). They broke up eventually. Look how young everyone is!

Later, when Chris was stationed in Northern Ireland, he met the love of his life, Caroline Ward, from Derry. (That's another story! And I will get to it here, eventually) 

They now have two grown children, Siobhan and Keelin, and one grandchild, named Kristopher.

I’m introducing him to you here because Chris is on dialysis and needs to get a kidney transplant.  I’m hoping you’ll find his life worthy and you’ll help him to ultimately get a kidney. I’m hoping you’ll consider testing for him,  and at the very least – that you’ll pass along this request and this journey to your friends.

There may be someone out there who could be a perfect match. It would change his life significantly.

Keep posted here. Contact me at www.caitlinhicks.com if you have questions, or know someone   who might want to test.