The Decision to Go for Kidney Transplant

My dad Rene Aquino

 on his 70th birthday

June 26, 2006

Gale Julian Cera, born November 25, 2008.
 The youngest of 8 grandchildren of Rene and Thelma Aquino.

The first born of Gale and Melanie Cera

The happy bride with her parents on her most special day, February 20, 2008

Gale and Melanie Cera

I was truly happy on my wedding. My father had brought me to tha altar. I was to stay home again, with a family of my own.

My father's health check ups monthly bacame a dreaded thing for me. It would sentence my dad to a nearing meet with the dialysis machine.

Another family meeting where I present the pros and cons of kidney transplant. My boss said we had to meet the right doctors, those who are open to kidney tranplants...only then did I realize that there were 'conservative' and 'aggressive' nephrologists. My boss said we had to meet with the right doctors, of which ours was of the first kind. Upon talking to our doctor, he felt that at dad's age there would be more harm than good in a kidney transplant. We then decided to seek for a second opinion for the sake of hearing the other side, or the other option.

Our next nephrologist was to be a lady. Very vibrant and alive. She would tell us that there would have to be tests for dad's suitability to receive and if he is suitable then we proceed to finding the donor.

By June to August 2008, our family decides to see if dad is suitable by going thru the tests for the heart, and other organs of the body. Dad passes the tests.

By September, we had enrolled him already at HOPE (Human Organ Preservation Effort) which is the hospital arm of the Philippine Kidney Foundation, tasked to coordinate and source cadaveric kidney donors nationwide. We also registered him for a non - related living donor at the Philippine Kidney Foundation.

Then we had to wait. Wait. And wait some more.

Pray. Pray. And Pray some more.

Several calls came from the HOPE foundation saying dad would be up for consideration of 5 possible receivers depending on suitability and cross matching. We would be hopeful but then, the 2nd call would not come.

In the meantime, the tests had only a 6 month validity and a repeat would be imminent if we were still to consider transplant. With our fund and spirits low, we only had to believe and have faith...more faith. With time ticking, dad's kidneys were also starting to fall to 10% function.

2008 Christmas was joyous with the birth of my son, Gale Julian. We were the happiest parents. Our son would live to see and be with his grandparents.

Come March of 2009, we had to face the realization that daddy needed dialysis. Though he was not showing symptoms of UREMIA, vomitting, nausea, urinating problems - we found it best not to wait and have his blood cleaned regularly.

Dr  Alvin Wee, a very god friend of my cousin, a Filipino renal transplant surgeon from St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital was in town. My very thoughtful cousin Dr. John Silva, asked us to meet up with him to discuss all we needed to know of Dad's case. We were impressed! A Filipino who's made us proud by being very good at his craft in a foreign land! Apart from the very thoughtful and truthful insights and facts he said, the most important questions we had to ask was:

1. Do you think my dad would survive a surgery as big as this?
2. Do you think you can help us find a donor...fast?

To both, he was very positive. Eyeballing at my dad, he said he was strong enough to survive it, as for the donor, surely there is, another doctor was referred to us.

Then the next big question from the good doctor was: What does your father like? At first I say to myself, what a weird thing to ask...of course my father would like to have that transplant! From his experience in the States where dialysis is covered by health insurance and donors are far and few, many choose to live on dialysis for "socializing" purposes....old folks get to have friends in the sessions, etc.

But dad was quick to answer, "After undergoing only 6 dialysis sessions, I would rather die in the operating table than live on dialysis".

Fresenius Dialysis Center

April 7, 2009

So the decision was finally made, we have passed all the tests, we now wait for the donor.

In the meantime, we schedule ourselves to see the new doctor who might be able to facilitate finding a donor faster.