Kidney Transplants and New Hearts
Eli got a new kidney!
On July 23, 2018, ELI GOT A KIDNEY!
I was going to try to update here on this blog but things got overwhelming in the hospital so I took to updating on facebook...click here to read those updates.
It was a crazy whirlwind. The call we had been waiting for FOREVER (or at least that is what it felt like) finally came. Once we got the call to head to Nashville everything seemed so surreal and in fast motion.
It was a deceased donor so time was crucial. A lot of emotions come along with knowing someone has died and is able to give your son life. No words.
There are so many things I want to share about the whole experience, but this is what the Lord has laid on my heart today. It is better to give it to you in small doses anyway. This way you can take it all in. Chew on it a bite at a time!
The other day I came across this verse and for the first time it all made perfect sense to me. I don't know if it is because I have just gone through a kidney transplant with my son but for the VERY FIRST time I saw "heart transplant" in this verse.
The reason it makes so much sense to me now is because I started going through the process of Eli getting his kidney and equating it to a heart transplant. And here is what the Lord showed me...
We as believers have all had a transplant!
It is a heart transplant!❤️
And here is what I can tell you about your heart transplant friend. This is what I learned those twelve days in the hospital with Eli.
BLOOD IS SHED
There is no easy way about it. You have to be cut and it is going to hurt. You will get anesthesia but there is still going to be pain.
SOMETIMES IT TAKES TIME TO START WORKING
In Eli's case his kidney didn't start working right away. After surgery, his creatinine actually started going up instead of down and after some tests and exploratory surgery, they realize that the kidney had actually tilted and had kinked a vein leaving it to enlarge and cut off blood flow. Thankfully they were able to reposition it and normal flow returned.
WE NEED SKILLED HANDS TO HELP US ALONG
I can't even begin to think how we would have gone through this without the expertise of the doctors, surgeons and nurses. Each one was there to make sure everything was progressing like it should. Even if the nurses come in every hour to make sure you didn't get your sleep. 😊
FORGETTING TO TAKE YOUR MEDICATIONS IS NO JOKE
I think Eli takes about 9 different meds right now and some of those are more than one pill so probably about 11-12 pills a day...two times a day. So we are talking over 20 pills a day. Two of those are his anti-rejection meds that he will have to take the rest of his life. His body is seeing this new kidney as a strange object so his body is trying to fight it. So in order to keep his immune system from attacking the kidney, he is on immune suppressants.
So here is what I know about your "new heart."
1. Your human nature wants to attack your new heart. Satan is doing everything in his power to kill it. Your anti-rejection medication is THE WORD! Get into the Word friends! Grow deeper and deeper in love with Christ and He will be your shield and protection.
2. You need community! You need others! And not just anyone. You need those who know truth, those who are walking with Jesus. God puts them in your life to check your vital signs every so often and is equipped to get you back on track.
3. With your new heart is a new you. This doesn't just happen. It is the process of sanctification, being set a part and made holy. You no longer live according to your selfish desires, but you live for Christ who died for you.
4. In order for you to receive your new heart, blood was shed for you! You have the perfect donor and His name is Jesus!
Someone died in order to give you new life.
I don't even know what else to say...No words.
