Contact Me Via Email: Shelly Email
 

Visit me on Myspace: Shelly Myspace


Welcome

Hi I'm Shelly the recipient of my best friend Shannon Breshears kidney. This is my story... In august of 1988 I was diagnosed with a rare disease called "polyarteritis nodosa". It's a disease of the arteries and blood vessels in which they expand and burst. The disease attacks the major organs and kills them off. I had blood vessels burst in both of my kidneys and filled one kidney completley with blood and it started filling the second before they were able to stop it. I was in a coma like state for about 2 weeks, I was also given my last rites. I was flown into UCSF because no other hospital would take me because they didn't know enough about the disease. In UCSF I was on a breathing machine because I could not breath on my own. When I finally realized I what was going on I was in shock. It scared me to think I could have died I would have never seen my kids or family again. I was in UCSF for at least a month. UCSF is a teaching hospital I had doctors in my room all the time. The doctors all wanted to know everything about me because of the disease I had, there were at that time only 50 reported cases and all of those patients died within the first 2 weeks. They never made it out of Intensive care(scarey to think that could have been me.) I was told on a daily basis that I was going to die, I would probably not live to leave the hospital. If I did get out of the hospital the prognosis was not a good one they gave me 6 months to 1 year to live. I remember laying there ( since thats all I could do I couldn't walk) thinking "how would they really know how long I would live they really didn't know anything about this disease. That was 11 years ago and I'm still here and doing GREAT!! My kidney function was stable all this time and I didn't really ever have any serious problems. My creatine was between 2 & 3 for ever. I was able to live a normal life, andI didn't have to stop doing anything. It wasn't until 1998 that I started noticed a change. I felt myself getting tired very easily I never really said anything to anyone because I didn't want them to start worrying. My creatine was around 3.5 and higher, I was losing weight and I couldn't keep my food down (I looked like walking death)...

  

It was time to start the testing process for the donors. I had 2 who would be testing, Troy, my brother, and Shannon my best friend of 7 years. They recieved the first kit which was for the blood tissue typing. They both immediately went to have their blood drawn. We were all on pin and needles.Shannon was never worried she always said from the very beginning she was going to be the one who would give me the kidney. Shannon told me that she believed that that's the reason that we met and became such good friends. She never doubted it was her. I remember she said "wouldn't it be cool if I matched 6 out of 6". I received the phone call from Jeannine my transplant coordinator that Troy was not a match. Troy and I didn't even have the same blood type. I was devastated I couldn't believe it. I remember calling Shannon and telling her that Troy didn't match at all and that it was all up to her(no pressure). Our lives changed from that moment on everything we did was all about the transplant. Jeannine called Shannon and told her that something had happened to her blood and they needed more to complete the tissue.(Shannon said it was because she matched so close they didn't believe it). She wasn't to far off she matched 4 out 6.When I called her to tell her all she could do was just scream she kept saying I told you guys I was the one. I could understand how she could be so happy about losing one of her kidneys. She's a very special person to me and always will be.
This is when all the stress started.

That was the start of the most stressful times I can ever remember in my life. I know it was for Shannon. She felt llike everything depended on her. (No pressure there) I was so nervous. Anything could have stopped her from donating. Shannon started all of her testing. She had CXR (chest Xray), EKG, more blood, urine, 24-hour urine. She had to do the 24-hour urine twice because her doctor forgot to order a protein test. That is an important test because UCSF needed to know how much protein her kidneys were producing.

While all that was going on, I was getting sicker and sicker. In December '98, I left work on sick leave. My doctor wanted to put me on dialysis. I refused because I wanted to wait to see what happened with Shannon first. In December wheen they tested Shannon's blood she had Ecoli poisoning. They put her on antibiotics. After that she got strep throat and her doctor wanted to take her tonsils out. She was getting totally stressed. I was ok with it because I knew everything would work out.
Finally she all her tests and it was down to the IVP and renal arteriogram. That was a day from HELL.

My parents, Shannon, and I all went to San Fransisco so Shannon could do these tests. We were all so stressed. Shannon could not eat. We checked into our room and went to eat. Poor Shannon got to eat Lime Jello and to this day she will not eat lime Jello. We got up early the next morning to go to the hospital for the final tests. Shannon had her IVP first and I was able to be in the room with her. Following that exam we were off to another floor for her final and most telling exam. Everything hung in the balance as we waited for her renal arteriogram to be completed.