This page is intended to help me (Robbie) to find a kidney for a transplant!
Description
I would like to just tell a little bit about myself and my kidney disease. I first learned of my Chronic Kidney disease (ckd) when i was just six years old. I was dressed as spider-man and had just got home from a Halloween party, which we were having at my school in Philadelphia. Whenever I went to the bathroom to void (pee) my urine came out red. I thought nothing of it; to be honest I simply th...ought I had been drinking too much fruit punch lol. One day I forgot to flush the toilet and my mom saw the red urine and asked me how long I had been "peeing red". I told her that it had been going on for a while. It turned out to be much worse than fruit punch, it was obviously blood. My mom immediately rushed me to St. Christopher’s hospital. When we arrived at the emergency room, the doctors were extremely worried and ran many tests. The doctors were not sure how this could have happened. They decided on strep throat infection that settled in my kidneys and caused ckd. This didn’t make sense to me or anybody else. I had never been sick up to this point. I couldn't understand how this could have happened; I was a very active little boy who enjoyed ninjas and baseball lol. . From then on the hospital was my second home.
My kidneys failed six years later when I was twelve. I remember the room would spin and I would have aw full nightmares. The doctors had to put me on emergency dialysis to keep me alive at this point. They gave me medicine through my IV that would help me "forget". I never forgot the pain. A dialysis catheter was placed at tip of my inner thigh and it was the first of many brutally painful procedures that no twelve years old should have to go through. This was only a temporary solution. A few weeks later the catheter was removed and a new more accessible dialysis catheter was inserted into my neck. This was still only temporary and i remained in the hospital. In order for me to go home they wanted to place me on a dialysis plan, which would allow me to go home and try to live a normal life.
A peritoneal dialysis catheter was inserted into my stomach, so that I could hook myself up to a machine at home and receive dialysis over night. The procedure to insert the catheter was supposed to be simple. When I woke up, I was in so much pain that i couldn't sit up or move without extreme pain in my stomach. My mom took me to the Ronald McDonald house to get more rest. Something was wrong. I felt very light headed and it kept getting worse. I told my mom that something was wrong. I had never been so scared in my entire life. I thought I was going to die. I passed out and woke up in a stretcher racing down the hallway of the hospital. I saw my mother, crying uncontrollably while being restrained by medical staff. I asked the nurse what had happened and she told me not to worry and that I was going to be ok. I then asked her; “am I going to die". She said; "what’s that honey"? I said;"Nothing". I accepted my fate.
The reason why I went unconscious, and thought I was done for was because when they inserted the catheter into my stomach the catheter nicked an artery the size of a pin head. Fortunately they sewed me back up. I was finally stable enough to go home. I felt tired most of the time and things had changed for me. I had to endure disgusting nutrition shakes that tasted so horrible, every time I took a sip I wanted to vomit. Three time a week i had to inject myself with steroid shots into my stomach. The steroids burned so bad it felt like i was injecting acid into my stomach. I had no choice but to hold an ice pack on my belly for thirty minutes, to numb the area and reduce the pain and burning sensation. One night my parents were awoken by my dialysis machine's alarm. They found me face down in my pillow. I was having seizures, and another fight for my life had already started this time without my protectors. I remember almost nothing. The only thing I remember was my mom trying to hold me up and I heard her yelling; "Robbie please open your eyes!" I couldn't talk and I couldn't open my eyes all the way. When I would try to open my eyes, I couldn't straighten them; they would roll in the back of my head. I woke up in the hospital the next morning and I had no idea what happened until they explained it to me.
At last I received a kidney transplant on feb 18 1999. I was twelve. The kidney did not work at first. They put me to sleep for a procedure that was supposed to last only 45 minutes. I looked at the clock before I went under. The clock read 9:45 am. I woke up at about 7pm. I knew something was wrong again! The ureter was damaged so they had to "piggy back" the original ureter from one of my native kidneys and saved the transplanted kidney. The transplant allowed me to live a better life and at-least I was off dialysis, but it never worked properly.
Ten years later the transplanted kidney failed and I was placed back on dialysis. I was on dialysis for 3 1/2 years before my left native kidney started to self destruct. The kidney was bleeding and it had a blood clot the size of an orange sitting on top of it. The blood clots were being voided through my urine; this is as painful as passing a kidney stone except it was happening all day for about 5 weeks. They were forced to remove the kidney. I had been on the list for about 3 1/2 years and was very close to finding a match. However, when they removed the damaged kidney, a small amount of cancer on the left native kidney was discovered when they removed the kidney. Yet another setback. Because I there was cancer in my body, I was placed as "inactive" on the list! I had dodged a third bullet. If i had received a transplant with cancer in my body, it would have spread like wild fire!
I have been cancer free for almost 3 years now and I am now active on the kidney transplant list. I haven't had any major problems since and I feel better than I ever have. I try to stay as active as possible and maintain a healthy life style! When I get a transplant I plan on going back to school so I can finally start my life...
A living donor is my absolute best Chance for a normal life. Please if anyone is interested in helping me find a living donor, or is interested in learning more, contact Gesinger wyoming valley. @ (570) 808-7300 ask for the transplant department. Give them my name (Robbie Fatzinger) More info on the pay it forward program http://www.matchingdonors.com/life/index.cfm?page=p030
My blood type is "O". If you are intrested in getting tested you can call Geisinger in wyoming valley,pa The number is (670) 808-5590 Everything including tested is paid by my medical insurance.
My kidneys failed six years later when I was twelve. I remember the room would spin and I would have aw full nightmares. The doctors had to put me on emergency dialysis to keep me alive at this point. They gave me medicine through my IV that would help me "forget". I never forgot the pain. A dialysis catheter was placed at tip of my inner thigh and it was the first of many brutally painful procedures that no twelve years old should have to go through. This was only a temporary solution. A few weeks later the catheter was removed and a new more accessible dialysis catheter was inserted into my neck. This was still only temporary and i remained in the hospital. In order for me to go home they wanted to place me on a dialysis plan, which would allow me to go home and try to live a normal life.
A peritoneal dialysis catheter was inserted into my stomach, so that I could hook myself up to a machine at home and receive dialysis over night. The procedure to insert the catheter was supposed to be simple. When I woke up, I was in so much pain that i couldn't sit up or move without extreme pain in my stomach. My mom took me to the Ronald McDonald house to get more rest. Something was wrong. I felt very light headed and it kept getting worse. I told my mom that something was wrong. I had never been so scared in my entire life. I thought I was going to die. I passed out and woke up in a stretcher racing down the hallway of the hospital. I saw my mother, crying uncontrollably while being restrained by medical staff. I asked the nurse what had happened and she told me not to worry and that I was going to be ok. I then asked her; “am I going to die". She said; "what’s that honey"? I said;"Nothing". I accepted my fate.
The reason why I went unconscious, and thought I was done for was because when they inserted the catheter into my stomach the catheter nicked an artery the size of a pin head. Fortunately they sewed me back up. I was finally stable enough to go home. I felt tired most of the time and things had changed for me. I had to endure disgusting nutrition shakes that tasted so horrible, every time I took a sip I wanted to vomit. Three time a week i had to inject myself with steroid shots into my stomach. The steroids burned so bad it felt like i was injecting acid into my stomach. I had no choice but to hold an ice pack on my belly for thirty minutes, to numb the area and reduce the pain and burning sensation. One night my parents were awoken by my dialysis machine's alarm. They found me face down in my pillow. I was having seizures, and another fight for my life had already started this time without my protectors. I remember almost nothing. The only thing I remember was my mom trying to hold me up and I heard her yelling; "Robbie please open your eyes!" I couldn't talk and I couldn't open my eyes all the way. When I would try to open my eyes, I couldn't straighten them; they would roll in the back of my head. I woke up in the hospital the next morning and I had no idea what happened until they explained it to me.
At last I received a kidney transplant on feb 18 1999. I was twelve. The kidney did not work at first. They put me to sleep for a procedure that was supposed to last only 45 minutes. I looked at the clock before I went under. The clock read 9:45 am. I woke up at about 7pm. I knew something was wrong again! The ureter was damaged so they had to "piggy back" the original ureter from one of my native kidneys and saved the transplanted kidney. The transplant allowed me to live a better life and at-least I was off dialysis, but it never worked properly.
Ten years later the transplanted kidney failed and I was placed back on dialysis. I was on dialysis for 3 1/2 years before my left native kidney started to self destruct. The kidney was bleeding and it had a blood clot the size of an orange sitting on top of it. The blood clots were being voided through my urine; this is as painful as passing a kidney stone except it was happening all day for about 5 weeks. They were forced to remove the kidney. I had been on the list for about 3 1/2 years and was very close to finding a match. However, when they removed the damaged kidney, a small amount of cancer on the left native kidney was discovered when they removed the kidney. Yet another setback. Because I there was cancer in my body, I was placed as "inactive" on the list! I had dodged a third bullet. If i had received a transplant with cancer in my body, it would have spread like wild fire!
I have been cancer free for almost 3 years now and I am now active on the kidney transplant list. I haven't had any major problems since and I feel better than I ever have. I try to stay as active as possible and maintain a healthy life style! When I get a transplant I plan on going back to school so I can finally start my life...
A living donor is my absolute best Chance for a normal life. Please if anyone is interested in helping me find a living donor, or is interested in learning more, contact Gesinger wyoming valley. @ (570) 808-7300 ask for the transplant department. Give them my name (Robbie Fatzinger) More info on the pay it forward program http://www.matchingdonors.com/life/index.cfm?page=p030
My blood type is "O". If you are intrested in getting tested you can call Geisinger in wyoming valley,pa The number is (670) 808-5590 Everything including tested is paid by my medical insurance.
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