My over the top optimism is liked.

HAHAHAH! I know it's irritating sometimes.
But it works.
Guess what I've been invited to do? Participate in a webinar for dialysis patients. They want them to better know all of their options. Someone will talk about paired donation, living donation, etc, and I'll get to participate! Know why? Because I'm an overly optimistic, too energetic, excitable FOOL. :)
I happen to know another living donor, who donated anonymously. I've talked about her. She's even cooler than me- she lost FOUR organs in TEN months (vs my wimpy 3 in 11). She's a volunteer firefighter on a squad of 122, and she's the only female. She's SO COOL. I mention her because they could have just as easily called her up to do this. I know that I'm different because I started the first chain in the midwest, but whatever. I'll fall back on the fact that I glow and bounce talking about it. Yes! In insist! I don't have to tone it down! WHOOO HOOO!
The gift that keeps giving.

Hey, know what else I'd never thought about? You know how our super cool bodies take care of the loss of a kidney by having the other one swell and pick up some of the slack? The studies show different numbers regarding how much slack it picks up. Anywhere from 65%-85% of the normal function of 2 kidneys....anyway- MAGIC...guess what happens for the recipient? THE SAME THING. That one kidney swells and takes over quite a bit. AWESOME. Freaking AWESOME.

I assumed that it might be like after child birth- here you just had the biggest moment of your entire life, but when you leave, that hospital is done with you, the nurses will forget you, and there are 30 other women having the biggest moments of their life instead. I assumed it would be like that- I'd donate, yay for the U for having the first paired exchange, maybe someday get to meet the chain, and Nicholle WHO? But no. And I have to say...that's nice. Certainly this won't always be this way. They will do more paired exchanges, learning something new each time. I have my chain friends, and we'll all keep getting together, but I thought I'd be Nicholle Who already.

Time to find a babysitter so I can go out to dinner tonight. :) YUM.
Love,
Food Whore