My name is Paige Flotkoetter and I currently live in Huntersville, NC. I was born in Durham and raised in High Point--except for a 10 year stint in Atlanta, I've lived in NC for my entire life! I was inspired to be a living donor when I received a Christmas card from a distant relative of my husband, and they had inserted a letter detailing their six-month-old grandson's need for a kidney. Hudson was born with Chronic Kidney Disease and needed a donor. I had not met Hudson or his family - because they live in California. When I received the letter, I felt like it was something I knew I was going to do. It was a weird feeling of this is what I was always meant to do.
Because of Hudson’s young age, transplant surgery was postponed until he was two years old so he would be big enough to receive an adult sized kidney. The day of surgery was complicated by Covid (I donated in July of 2020). I flew to Los Angeles and had the surgery early on the morning of July 7 after quarantining in California for two weeks to ensure that I'd be ok for the donation process. The nurses and doctors were all so kind and caring, and I was in surgery for about five hours. I woke up and was immediately concerned about my recipient. I knew I was ok, so your worries shift to your recipient and hoping they come through the surgery successfully. I was also worried about Hudson’s parents and how nervous they must be and I just wanted a positive outcome for all of us, and it was!
In the beginning, recovery was slow. It's hard to get out of bed by yourself and get up from a sitting position. But, as all donors know, you learn the roll over and crouch technique to ease out of the bed. Honestly, that was the hardest part. Within 24 hours, I was up and walking and by day four I was up to walking a VERY SLOW mile. I think I was off all pain meds by day five. Sleeping is a challenge first week or so, but I found that being elevated help tremendously.
I'd like people to know that donation is a few weeks of inconvenience that can literally save or change a person's life. It may seem like a daunting endeavor, but the testing and the surgery is all worth it in the end - and I'm scared to death of needles! If I can do this, anyone can do it. Family & friend support is integral in this process. I could not have done any of this without the loving support of my husband, my children, my parents, my husband's parents and our new found family in California. We were in California for a solid month, so having people that are behind you and believe in what you are doing is vitally important - even our friends stepped up to help in any way they could! Of course, they were initially worried and concerned, but once we shared all of the risks and made them aware of the percentages of negative outcomes, they were fully behind me. Education is key for donors and their families.
