After the visit with the psychiatrist (I did not need any "buffing up") I met with the dietician, nephrologist, surgeon, transplant coordinator and maybe someone else I am forgetting.
Dietician: Laughed out loud when she asked me how many snacks I have in one week and I replied "Maybe twenty". Told me when and how to take vitamins and not to lose or gain weight. I asked her about various homeopathic remedies and she did not know about any of them. She looked like she was 21 and I commented that she was very young looking and she said that she was about to say the same thing about me! Hmmmm.
Ahem.
Nephrologist: He seemed to be sort of unclear as to exactly what was going on and why I was there and not very sure of what I meant when I said I would donate to another person if someone else turned out to be another match for Arnold. (Arnold had other people testing, which is a Whole Other Story). All in all the whole meeting was very odd, especially when he did the hammer thing to my knee. Hello! Then he asked me how old I was and I said my age (43) and he said "You look a lot younger!" I thought that was odd, as I clearly do not.
Surgeon: The surgeon and he may still be my surgeon, someday, was very businesslike with tiny little hands (better to reach around in your insides with) who did not seem to be very receptive to any joking around. For instance, he said that women do much better as donors and seem to have less pain and resistance to the procedure compared to men and I said "Well, that is a surprise" (as in We All Know Women Are Not Big Babies, like men are) and he looked at me strangely. He told me about the surgery and how I had big old kidneys and good sized veins ! (I was so proud of my own anatomy at that moment). He asked me if I had any preference in regards to surgical instruments and so on and I told him that I was not actually a medical doctor or a surgeon and was hoping to be knocked out unconscious and so would not have any knowledge of anything to do with the procedure. Oh yeah, more odd looks. But it went well, really....he also mentioned I could go on to have children after this..."I am too old to have more kids" I said, and he commented he thought I was born in 1979...looking at his papers...more confusion....I commented that I certainly don’t look like a kiddo born in 79 and he said that I did look young to him. I told him that I think all of them must be used to looking at people who need a kidney. Odd stare. He does seem like a good surgeon, though. Really! I mean it!
Then I met with the Transplant Coordinator. She told me that there were other people testing and that she believed that I would NOT be chosen to donate to Arnold, but that I would be used as an altruistic donor. I was okay with that, but a little surprised. Not two minutes after she said that, another lady came to talk to me about some blood work I had to do for the surgery and sent me off to do it. I asked her who I was donating to and she mentioned Arnold. I did the blood work and went back up to see Transplant Coordinator who said that not everyone knew about the other people testing but that she loved cops because so many were testing and all were going to be altruistic donors if they were not the best match for Arnold. I was pretty interested in that, since I only knew of one other person testing.
This is when things became strange....
The next day my friend from the transplant called and said that The Transplant Coordinator had resigned that day.
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