Hello from Morganton, NC. My name is Wanda Buffington. I am a kidney recipient. I developed a rare blood disorder called TTP (Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura) on Feb. 26, 2011. 1 in one million people developed this blood disorder at that time. Very few people live through this ordeal. It attacked my lungs and brain. It also put both of my kidneys into total renal failure. I got a DVT in my leg and my small Colon ruptured. I was delirious most of the time. I had told the neurologist that it was 1969 and the President was Abraham Lincoln. That was strange but funny. I received plasma exchanges and put on dialysis. I became very weak. I had 22 Doctors. After the colon surgery and learning to walk again, I was sent home after two and a half months. I was on dialysis three times a week for five hours each time. It was freezing cold in that room. We had to wear hats, gloves and lots of blankets. Unless you have been on dialysis, there is no way of knowing how horrible it makes one feel. I finally got the call on April 29, 2013, that they had a kidney for me. I was so happy, I felt like I could jump over the moon. I received a big, healthy kidney so Dr. Stratta told me. I was at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC. I finally got my life back. My Donor is anonymous to me but that person is my HERO! How selfless of this person to be a Registered Organ Donor. We do not need our organs once we leave this world. Why not help other people who so desperately need as an organ. Personally, I know I will get a new body when I get to heaven. I didn't even know about organ donation until I needed a kidney. Many people don't know either. I am now an Organ Donor and a volunteer for Donate Life, Lifeshare of the Carolinas and a DMV Ambassador in Marion, NC. I urge you to seriously consider becoming a Registered Organ Donor today! The need is great. Ignore the myths you may have heard. They are lies. Thank you for reading my story. God bless you. Please register.
