Judy's Search for a Kidney

09/20/2025

The regimen of high dose steroids through drip followed by a 6 hour infusion of high dose anti rejection drugs seem to be working! Creatinine is now down to 2.74 (it was nearly 5 when we got here) There are some pretty bad side effects but I can endure them in order to get out of rejection and get back home. About halfway through the treatment, I get very antsy, sweaty, labored breathing and am doing my best to stay away from having a full blown panic attack. Thank God for David, he gets me calmed down, does whatever is needed even if I want to remake my bed, pay my bills and take a short walk at 2 in the morning! Couldnt have made it through this without David. Shout out to my donor, Bill Wedgeworth. And like the ole breakup line, "its not you, its me!" That is true in this case also. It doesnt matter who's kidney I received, my wierd body would have had the same response to try to reject it! Thanks for your prayers. God hears them all and is answering them!!! Love you all!

09/19/2025

Well, IV out, discharge papers completed, dressed, packed and ready to go when one of the surgeons came running in the room from surgery. Biopsy just came back and my body is rejecting the new kidney. So we will be here several more days. They are going to start me on super high doses of steroids for several days to try to reverse it. David and my heart are broken. But we will leave this in Gods hands who has put this story together from the beginning and trust his plan no matter how rocky it may seem. Please continue prayers

09/17/2025

This has certainly been a roller coaster ride! I had my transplant om September 2nd. Surgery was a success and my new kidney was working perfectly. After about week, I began to experience a lot of pain and nausea . After calling the transplant center they readmitted me Into East Jefferson Hospital on Monday where they determined I was extremely dehydrated. Since Then they have been giving me lots of fluids through drip but yet each day my creatinine level continued to climb. It was .08 on the day after surgery. Today its 4.6. This afternoon they did a kidney biopsy to determine if I am rejecting the kidney. That result will not be back until Friday. Please pray my body does not reject this kidney. God has created an amazing testimony so far so we are trusting his plan. Thank you so much for all the calls, visits and prayers.

08/28/2025

Today we had pre-op stuff, met our surgeons and got really cool bracelets. (NOT). They put on our hospital bracelets that we have to wear until we are released after surgery! Less than one week......Let's do this!!

08/16/2025

17 days before my transplant surgery. I'm just trying to get my house in order, my finances in order, hotel room booked, leaving everything caught up at work with written instructions, kennel booked for Marlie, make sure Mr. Fish is fed, packing the right amount of clothes, getting a medicine organizer for the HUGE amount of anti-rejection drugs I'll be taking and a million other small details. So, I know I may forget or may not be able to think clearly post surgery and wanted to make sure I posted this now. David and I have been married for 40 years this past June. He's pretty much spoiled me the same way my Mom and Dad did before him. He lets me have my way (most of the time). But these past few years he's been so incredible. He's my biggest encourager. My dr told me I Needed to start walking because it would help me recover sooner from the kidney transplant which is a pretty big surgery. I HATE WALKING! At least I use to. David started waking me early every morning and getting me walking. We started in May and I could barely walk 1 mile. This morning we walked 4 miles and have been since June. I've lost 17 pounds but feel like I'm in much better condition despite some breathing issues I have with the kidney failure. I never would've done this on my own. He pushes me to do more even when I don't feel well, and when he knows I've reqched my limit, he's the best nurse in the world. He brings my dialysis solution bags every night, Brings me water in the middle of the night, gets me cereal from the pantry because my drain line won't reach that far and countless other things. He is excited I'm getting a new kidney but he wanted so badly to be the donor. God had other plans because he knew I would need David to be my caretaker after surgery. Some people say they couldn't do much for six months after surgery but David and I have set a goal to walk in the FGH 5 K in October. And with Gods blessing, the dr's permission and David's help, I think we will do it! Probably not in record time but we will cross the finish line together. I love you with all my heart David ❤️. Thank you so much for ALWAYS taking care of me !

08/10/2025

In 3 weeks, on September 3, this guy right here will be donating his kidney to me. Please keep us both in your prayers. I don't know if it was bad lighting, or David's bad camera skills, but there's a radiant light shining around my friend Bill. Actually, I think that's illuminating him like an angel. He is a gift to me straight from God. I will never ever be able to repay him for this life sustaining gift, but I will spend the rest of my life paying it forward. Please keep us both (but especially Bill) in your prayers on September 3rd.

07/25/2025

18 months ago, I was referred to Tulane for a kidney transplant. I was advised to post on social media that I was looking for possible donors and I was blessed that many responded with having initial bloodwork done. One of the first people to let me know he had signed up was my fellow church member and friend, Bill Wedgeworth. Not only did he tell me he signed up, he let me know that he felt strongly God's call for him to do this. Initially, they chose someone else to further test, and when they fell through, Bill told me "I told you I'm the one!" Tulane went with a second candidate , and when that fell through, he sent me a short text that said, "I got you, Judy" So when it looked like Tulane was ready to choose a 3rd candidate, not only was Bill willing to step up, he actually made a phone call to Tulane and said "I don't know if you're a Christian or not, but God has laid this on my heart that I'm the one to give Judy a kidney". The lady put him on hold about 10 minutes and came back to the phone and said, "Okay, let's start the testing". Not only was he a willing donor, he really went to bat and fought for me to get his kidney. Because, after all, God had already revealed to him that he would be the one. And today, 30 Tulane physicians got together and voted unanimously to approve him as my donor. Maybe the majority of them believe they made that decision based on their medical knowledge and expertise, but I know they made that decision today because of God. When Bill initially signed up to see if he was a blood match, I teased his wife Martha by saying "Bill and I may be a perfect match!" Well.....obviously we weren't a perfect match, but we are definitely a "Match Made In Heaven"! I'm getting a new kidney and I have so very many people to thank but most of all, I thank God for Bill Wedgeworth and his selflessness and willingness to follow Gods plan and give me a life sustaining gift that I will never be able to repay. Please keep him and myself in your prayers as we should learn our surgery date in a couple of weeks. Love you all ❤️

06/27/2025

Last transplant requirement for me was a heart cath. I had that today in NOLA and they said my ticker is just fine! ❤️ Hopefully one step closer to transplant !

04/14/2025

I received word today from a friend that they had been contacted by Tulane to do further testing for a possible match for transplant. So please please keep them in your prayers. This person has told me from the very beginning they were going to be the donor. I certainly hope they're right! So thankful for EVERONE who submitted bloodwork for being a possible donor. I love you all ❤️

04/09/2025

After two months on dialysis, I'm definitely feeling better. More energy, less nausea and blood pressure that could compete with a teenager LOL. For years, I've been plagued with extremely high blood pressure due to kidney failure so it's nice to see it back in normal ranges. I'm still waiting for an approved donor for transplant. I have no idea (due to HIPPA) where we are in that process of testing. People say how thankful I should be for dialysis and I am vs the alternative. But I absolutely HATE being tethered to a machine for 9 hours every night. When I started dialysis, I told myself this will happen only be for a few weeks but I've come to the realization that I may be doing peritoneal dialysis for a year or longer. Please continue to pray that a donor will be approved soon. Thank you so much for all the prayers.

03/09/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/freseniusmedicalcare_world-kidney-day-2025-fresenius-medical-activity-7302255190705946625-kktf?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAABwmxw0BYaoFOjWdYUjlzboMd0MjfrnYt2I&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link

Your kidneys are working 24/7 to keep you healthy – so why not return the favor? As we enter the National Kidney Month (U.S.) and approach World Kidney Day on March 13, it’s the perfect time to ask yourself: Are your kidneys OK? Swipe through the images to discover four simple steps you can take...

02/25/2025

I have 2 more days of training in New Orleans and will begin peritoneal dialysis from home beginning Friday. The dialysis clinic training has been very thorough and really helpful. Initially, I will have to go every couple of weeks for bloodwork and then once a month for visits with my nephrologist at the dialysis clinic He is amazing and I would highly recommend him to anyone in renal failure who is looking to do a kidney transplant. We had planned a preemptive transplant however my kidneys just didn't hold out long enough to get an approved donor. Hoping and praying that dialysis will just be temporary and I can receive a kidney transplant soon. Thank you for all the prayers and please continue to pray for my potential donor ❤️https://youtu.be/EU8CCOvUTv4?si=90p_XQix_a8xs8SK

Dr. Joshua Lowentritt specializes in Nephrology at Touro. He devotes most of his time when meeting with patients to teaching and explaining their disease pr...