Best Friends for 40 Years: Living Kidney Transplant

Living Kidney Transplant

This episode on living kidney transplant is quite different from any we’ve hosted before and yet so very much a part of the richness of community, the value of friendships, and the realization that at this point a common sense of values connects us in a way we couldn’t have predicted.

How far will you go for your best friends? This episode will give you a reason to ask. How well would your body provide health for someone else if it was needed?

My Guests:

Carla is a 58-year-old, soon-to-be living kidney donor, and a passionate health enthusiast for over 30 years on a mission to help change the mindsets of women that their age is not their cage! She is a health coach but her everyday joy is found in coming alongside women and helping them to truly enjoy and thrive in this life. Tammy is a 58-year-old soon-to-be living kidney recipient and the elementary school teacher that every student wishes for. You would never know that Tammy has suffered from chronic kidney disease for years. She focuses on living life to the fullest daily and doesn’t label herself as sick. She’s the kind of person you want in your life.

Carla & Tammy have known each other since they were 15 years old. They are part of a “Fab50s” friend group of lifelong friends that they describe as the type of community that every woman desires! This community has been Tammy & Carla’s lifeline throughout this kidney donation process. Carla & Tammy’s main goal is to create awareness for the need for living kidney donors, share how their faith has carried them through, emphasize the importance of exercise & nutrition in our lives, and why women in the community are so incredibly important in life. Carla & Tammy are using their voices to share this story in the hope that if this helps just one person in some way, then they’ve accomplished what they’ve set out to do.

Questions we answer in this episode:

First, tell your story Tammy, when were you diagnosed with kidney disease? When did you know it was life-threatening?
As a donor, what has the step-by-step process looked like for you once you said yes to applying for living kidney donation?
What does recovery & life look like for a donor after surgery? Limitations, things you absolutely cannot do anymore, etc.
As a kidney transplant recipient, what does life look like for you now and after surgery and what is the difference in a deceased kidney donor and a living donor?
Tell me the story behind your friendship, your FAB50s group, & what it’s like having a community of women to surround you during this time, and what are the ways you could share with women how to create and find community in their area?
How has your faith played a role in this entire process?
Carla, what would you like listeners to know about the importance of their exercise and nutrition lifestyle now and as they continue to age?