kidney transplant

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convince me

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“I like your haircut,” my colleague said as our paths merged on the way out of the hospital. “Thanks,” I smiled automatically, though I was surprised to hear the compliment since I cut my mid-back length locks off down to a short natural a year and a half prior. Clearly, it had been a while since we’d seen each other.

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wanted dead or alive (kidney)

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When met with people in awe that I was able to donate a kidney to Robert, I have joked on more than one occasion that instead of the popular pickup line of the 1970s, “Hey Girl, what’s your sign?” Robert’s was “Hey Girl, what’s your blood type?”— implying that our match wasn’t entirely random, that Robert only dated women who were potential donors.

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biased research

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I am a woman of my word. At least I try to be. Ten years ago, when I said to Robert, my boyfriend at the time, “We should try to see if I can give you a kidney,” as we sat in a clinic exam room for his transplant evaluation appointment, I wasn’t just talking.