“I was fortunate. I've been on dialysis for only the year prior to my transplant on December 12. I have polycystic kidney disease, which runs in my family. My mother and my sister died from it. My nephew just received a kidney transplant at UAB two years ago. It's just a bad family disease that's run all through my mother's side of the family.
“I’ve actually done really well for my entire life up until about two years ago. That's when my numbers started dropping some and they wanted me to go on dialysis. Of course, I fought doing that for a while because I’ve seen the downside with it more than I have the upside.
“My sister was 53 when she died, and my mother was 52 when she died. I was the one who got by the best until recently. It’s been a scary thing to live with. I found out when I was 38 that I would eventually have to go on dialysis and likely have a transplant. I never noticed that I was really having any problems, but other people did. They knew it. They could see me going downhill. I knew I didn't feel like I always felt before, but I still didn't pay any attention to it.
“I knew it was my kidneys, but for me, dialysis is something you really have to think about before you do it. I watched my sister have some hard times with it.
“I finally decided to go ahead and do it, and I did peritoneal dialysis at home. I hooked up for eight hours at night, and that worked really well for me.
“I was supposed to have my transplant in July, and it didn't work out. But they called me again at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon about eight weeks ago, and I was at Cracker Barrel. They told me they had a kidney and that it was a miracle.
“The person donating on my behalf is John Woolard, who is my niece's husband. It's just God's grace that John would do this so I could get a kidney. He just decided he would do it because no one else could. I had people step up and get tested, but they didn't match, or they were older. John was my last chance.
“This really has just been a great experience. I'm crazy about all of the doctors here at UAB and the nurses and staff. The care has just been phenomenal. It's only been four days since my surgery, and I feel great. I've felt good since I've been on dialysis, but knowing that it's all behind me really gives me a sense of relief, especially knowing I don't have to hook up to that machine every night.”
Glenda Park - 32
"Knowing that it's all behind me really gives me a sense of relief, especially knowing I don't have to hook up to that machine every night.”