In early May I spent two Mondays down at Porter Adventist Hospital in South Denver. I had been talking with my dialysis team about the possibility of getting on the kidney transplant list for a while.  I had my doubts that this was a possibility but was pleasantly surprised when the Porter Adventist team asked me to come down for two days of evaluation.

I had told my radiation oncologist that I wanted to try for a transplant when I was going through treatments in May 2022. My urologist was not very enthusiastic about the possibility of my transplant possibilities. With metastatic prostate cancer and a PSA at .3, I was not sure that this was a reality I could fulfill.

The first day of Porter I met with the nurse who pumped me for about 12 samples of blood for different tests. They are very skilled at making sure you are in top shape. After I gave all the blood samples, I had to take a nuclear stress test to see how my heart was. Now having inherited the genes from  my mom, I knew that my heart was in relatively good shape. The stress test proved that this was correct.

In the second Monday at  Porter, I met with the entire team who would be instrumental in the transplant. I met with the nephrologist, the surgeon, the nurse, the social worker, the nutritionist, and the entire team. Everyone met with me for 45 minutes. At one point I had to take a few tests to see what my frailty level was. They did a test on my grip strength, which has never been all that great. And then they did a test where I had to walk 15 feet as quickly as I could. The time for the walk was normally six seconds for someone in my age range. I did it in 2.5 seconds, so I was marked as robust on the frailty range.

I am now in the process of completing a few things to give myself the best opportunity to get on the kidney transplant list. I had two teeth that were broken and infected and have now been pulled with the regimen of antibiotics included to kill the infection. Currently I am working with my PCP to get a colonoscopy. That is the last piece of the puzzle that the transplant team is  looking for.

Some of the interesting things that I learned at Porter:

1. The longer you are on dialysis, the shorter your lifespan. (I have now been on dialysis for two years.)

2. When a kidney transplant is performed, they do not remove your current kidneys, but put the new kidney and connected to the old kidney.

3. Having prostate cancer is not an automatic exclusion from the transplant list. One of the questions I was asked was about why I did not try to get on the transplant list before now. I explained that I thought my cancer was an automatic no to get on the transplant list.

4.  The waitlist for a kidney transplant is determined by the amount of time you’ve been on dialysis. Since I’ve been on dialysis for two years, and the wait time for my blood type A+  is about 3 to 5 years, I’ve shaved almost half the time off the waitlist for me.

Will I be able to get on the transplant list?

At this point I have no idea. The prospects look bright, but I am trying not to let my enthusiasm run away. I still must figure out my whole caregiver situation. I live alone and I am not dating anyone currently. The transplant team is very adamant about having a solid network of people to help once the transplant has been completed. I would not be able to drive for at least a month and I guess using Lyft or Uber is not a solution.

I must try this! I must fight as hard as I can to get a transplant. I cannot let the caregiver situation keep me from having a longer fuller life. My goal is to get on the transplant list and figure out the caregiver situation once that occurs.

I know many of you reading this have no idea what this is all about. I pray you never have to think about end-stage renal failure or metastatic prostate cancer in your lifetime. Three years ago, I never would have thought that this would be where I am now. You play the cards you are dealt! I stay positive, I pray, and I know that family and friends who are in heaven are watching out for me. The result is in God’s hands.