Thank you for your comment! I have been trying to figure out how to do the last vlog for nearly five years now lol. Hopefully I get around to it soon :)
Good on you for your gift and enduring what you did. I received a bone marrow transplant from my sister almost 6 years ago. Happy to say I'm still alive and kicking. What you did was no less than heroic.
+ExtantFrodo2 Thank you for your kind words! I am glad to hear that you are doing well post transplant! As far as I know the child that got my liver donation is doing well too :D
+ExtantFrodo2 I am doing well now. The long term effects of the nerve damage in my arm from the surgery persist sill but I am happy to be back at work and managing it well. I recovered well from the liver resection and have had no issues with it. :)
Danial Please, I would like to request to make a video about your life post donation, how is your life now, what is the recovery’s stages which you passed through, what is your advices for people who planning to do living liver donation.
Hi! I have tried to make a followup video a few times but have never been happy with it. The recovery for my arm is still ongoing now three years post donation. I will try and get a video out soon. I just have to figure out how to talk about it in a short video.
During the surgery a nerve in my neck was somehow pinched or damaged. When I woke up after the surgery my arm was partially paralyzed from the elbow down. Aver the next week the feeling slowly came back but it was extremely painful. I ended up being off work for a year and a half while it was slowly healing. There was all kinds of stuff going on with getting info from the hospital, trying to figure out what happened and how. my arm is now as good as it will get. It is probably 85% healed. I cannot wear watches or rings and even long sleeve shirts can be painful on the bad days. This type of injury is rare and in my case it was quite severe.
Interessting to listen to this. I had a really different experience😳 Had a single room and the staff keept good track of me. Went home on the fift day, could not stand the food. But, I had aquit good experience in the recovery to be honest. Hope everything went well for you!
@@travelwithme459 Yes, but fully managable when medicated😊 I imagined the pain to be a lot worse than it actually was. I would do it all over again if I had more kidneys to spare.
@@travelwithme459 Not sure if I am really the best person to answer that question. I do not tolerate pain meds well, like (morphine etc) so it is hard to treat surgical pain on me. And the pain comes and goes during the hours. All together, I would say day 1-3 was a 5. Day 3 to 5 was a 7. And from that it got way better😊 Everyone handles pain differently, I have met a lot of donors, some say the pain was "nothing", some say it was very painful. If you are considering beeing a donor, I would recommend you find some groups for donors on FB. I did and it answered a lot of my questions, and made me calm. I'll be happy to answer anything I can😊
I think it was during the night on day 2, the pain was really intense that night. A solid 9 for a couple of hours. A combination of surgical pain, getting my period and accidently pinching the catheder. Other than those hours, I think the pain was managable.
+Rob D haha, well It is hard to leave, both from a paperwork point of view and physically. Depending on what country you live it it may not be possible to leave until a doctor discharges you. Physically it was very hard to walk for the first 4-5 days just because of the pain. By the time I did this video though, I was way past ready to leave. I ended up being discharged the next day but it was a brutal stay that's for sure.
The surgery was painful even with painkillers. By about a week after I was out of surgery the nerve damage in the arm was far worse than the incision pain.
@@travelwithme459 This was the day before I was discharged and the most intense pain was past. I was being weaned off the strong pain killers and the incision wasn’t terribly painful. There is a a feeling like your stomach could open up at any time. It’s not painful, but more disconcerting. It was common for me to walk around holding my belly across the incision for months afterwards. Even now many years later it still feels strange, although it almost never hurts now.
@@travelwithme459 With regards to my incision I have a persistent weakness in the muscles, and pain that presents when I am using them more than normal. I have to be careful to not herniate the incision. With regards to the nerve damage in my arm, it is largely permanent and hurts 24 hours a day since the surgery. It’s not terribly painful, but it never stops and can get bad if I’m not careful. I also have strange sensations and motor control issues with that hand.
I do not have any regrets for donating. Although the extended cost of the donation is still felt in my life, beyond the monetary costs as well. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and may still do a kidney donation at some point in the future as well.
Hello my name is james and i wanted to know how you feel now and if it still cost you money and how much.My aunt wants me to donate and im on the fence to say the least.Could you please let me know how you feel in retrospect.Thank you
Hello! I was off work for a hear and a half recovering from the nerve damage. I lost a lot of money because of the surgery, but I would do it again. It was worth it for me, even though it made my life very hard for a long while. My arm still hurts off and on. It is never going to fully heal, but it is manageable. What happened to me is extremely rare and is not normal.
Danial McCoy Thank you for the fast reply. If nobody else told you i want to say thank you. Because i know how selfless that truly is. I think the fear of the unknown has me a bit defensive and the pressure of her rushing me doesn't help either. Its only been a month since my first appointment and she on my back everyday about it. Man i don't know what to do because i dont think i can handle all that at this moment.
That would be tough. It is a pretty serious deal, doing a liver donation, and you want to be really sure that it's something you are comfortable with before you do it. I know someone else who did a liver donation and required an additional surgery and blood transfusions because of complications. Major problems are not common, but they do happen. You have to be prepared to be off work for en extended period. It can financially really hard.
I hate that this video is buried in TH-cam... what an amazing thing you did.
Thank you for your comment! I have been trying to figure out how to do the last vlog for nearly five years now lol. Hopefully I get around to it soon :)
Good on you for your gift and enduring what you did. I received a bone marrow transplant from my sister almost 6 years ago. Happy to say I'm still alive and kicking. What you did was no less than heroic.
+ExtantFrodo2 Thank you for your kind words! I am glad to hear that you are doing well post transplant! As far as I know the child that got my liver donation is doing well too :D
Danial McCoy
That's wonderful news. Are you faring well also?
+ExtantFrodo2 I am doing well now. The long term effects of the nerve damage in my arm from the surgery persist sill but I am happy to be back at work and managing it well. I recovered well from the liver resection and have had no issues with it. :)
Danial McCoy
I've found neuropathy has a plus side... giving painless blood samples
Danial
Please, I would like to request to make a video about your life post donation, how is your life now, what is the recovery’s stages which you passed through, what is your advices for people who planning to do living liver donation.
Hi! I have tried to make a followup video a few times but have never been happy with it. The recovery for my arm is still ongoing now three years post donation. I will try and get a video out soon. I just have to figure out how to talk about it in a short video.
Danial, what happened to your arm? i am preparing myself to donate part of liver to my mother:).
During the surgery a nerve in my neck was somehow pinched or damaged. When I woke up after the surgery my arm was partially paralyzed from the elbow down. Aver the next week the feeling slowly came back but it was extremely painful. I ended up being off work for a year and a half while it was slowly healing. There was all kinds of stuff going on with getting info from the hospital, trying to figure out what happened and how.
my arm is now as good as it will get. It is probably 85% healed. I cannot wear watches or rings and even long sleeve shirts can be painful on the bad days. This type of injury is rare and in my case it was quite severe.
Danial, i hope your arm is fully recovered.
@@eidsydney did you donate part of you liver to your mom? How did it go?
Interessting to listen to this. I had a really different experience😳 Had a single room and the staff keept good track of me. Went home on the fift day, could not stand the food. But, I had aquit good experience in the recovery to be honest. Hope everything went well for you!
Was it painful?
@@travelwithme459 Yes, but fully managable when medicated😊 I imagined the pain to be a lot worse than it actually was. I would do it all over again if I had more kidneys to spare.
@@asastackenholt511 from 1 to 10 pain with medication after surgery, first week?
@@travelwithme459 Not sure if I am really the best person to answer that question. I do not tolerate pain meds well, like (morphine etc) so it is hard to treat surgical pain on me. And the pain comes and goes during the hours. All together, I would say day 1-3 was a 5. Day 3 to 5 was a 7. And from that it got way better😊 Everyone handles pain differently, I have met a lot of donors, some say the pain was "nothing", some say it was very painful.
If you are considering beeing a donor, I would recommend you find some groups for donors on FB. I did and it answered a lot of my questions, and made me calm. I'll be happy to answer anything I can😊
I think it was during the night on day 2, the pain was really intense that night. A solid 9 for a couple of hours. A combination of surgical pain, getting my period and accidently pinching the catheder. Other than those hours, I think the pain was managable.
Did you consider just leaving? I'm doing this soon and plan on getting out as soon as I can walk.
+Rob D haha, well It is hard to leave, both from a paperwork point of view and physically. Depending on what country you live it it may not be possible to leave until a doctor discharges you. Physically it was very hard to walk for the first 4-5 days just because of the pain.
By the time I did this video though, I was way past ready to leave. I ended up being discharged the next day but it was a brutal stay that's for sure.
+Danial McCoy thanks. In UK and hoping to be out in 2 days but will see.
How painful was it? Is it ok with painkillers? Or they didn’t help much?
The surgery was painful even with painkillers. By about a week after I was out of surgery the nerve damage in the arm was far worse than the incision pain.
@@MiscellaneousMcC does the incision hurt or your insides? To me you don’t look like you are in lots of pain in the video. You look relaxed…
@@travelwithme459
This was the day before I was discharged and the most intense pain was past. I was being weaned off the strong pain killers and the incision wasn’t terribly painful. There is a a feeling like your stomach could open up at any time. It’s not painful, but more disconcerting. It was common for me to walk around holding my belly across the incision for months afterwards.
Even now many years later it still feels strange, although it almost never hurts now.
@@MiscellaneousMcC would you say you are back to normal? Or this left side effects on you?
@@travelwithme459
With regards to my incision I have a persistent weakness in the muscles, and pain that presents when I am using them more than normal. I have to be careful to not herniate the incision.
With regards to the nerve damage in my arm, it is largely permanent and hurts 24 hours a day since the surgery. It’s not terribly painful, but it never stops and can get bad if I’m not careful. I also have strange sensations and motor control issues with that hand.
Do you have regrets or is very rewarding ?
I do not have any regrets for donating. Although the extended cost of the donation is still felt in my life, beyond the monetary costs as well. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and may still do a kidney donation at some point in the future as well.
Hello my name is james and i wanted to know how you feel now and if it still cost you money and how much.My aunt wants me to donate and im on the fence to say the least.Could you please let me know how you feel in retrospect.Thank you
Hello!
I was off work for a hear and a half recovering from the nerve damage. I lost a lot of money because of the surgery, but I would do it again. It was worth it for me, even though it made my life very hard for a long while.
My arm still hurts off and on. It is never going to fully heal, but it is manageable. What happened to me is extremely rare and is not normal.
Danial McCoy Thank you for the fast reply. If nobody else told you i want to say thank you. Because i know how selfless that truly is. I think the fear of the unknown has me a bit defensive and the pressure of her rushing me doesn't help either. Its only been a month since my first appointment and she on my back everyday about it. Man i don't know what to do because i dont think i can handle all that at this moment.
That would be tough. It is a pretty serious deal, doing a liver donation, and you want to be really sure that it's something you are comfortable with before you do it. I know someone else who did a liver donation and required an additional surgery and blood transfusions because of complications. Major problems are not common, but they do happen. You have to be prepared to be off work for en extended period. It can financially really hard.