A life changer. That’s how Adam Crozier describes the phone call that came more than six years after joining the waiting list for a kidney. It was a call he’d convinced himself was never coming.
“My wife and I both, independently, made the mental decision that this is never going to happen, so we’re just not going to worry about it. We’ll prepare for it, and we’ll be ready for it when it comes, but ultimately, we’re going to live our lives.”
Because of that mentality, the Auburn resident says it came as a shock when he got the news to head for Indianapolis. Surgery was scheduled for April 24, the day before his birthday. It was also more than a month into the coronavirus pandemic.
“My first thought was of all the things we had debated. It streamlined the process.”
COVID-19 restrictions kept Adam’s wife Belinda and their two children from visiting him at the transplant center. As his surgery approached, virtual check-ins and training videos replaced some in-person visits. Still, Adam says, for the most part, the process went smoothly.
“The nurses and staff had either been covering other areas of the hospital or, at any rate, not doing what they loved to do. You could tell they loved their jobs and really appreciated being back doing it.”
From his care to his recovery, Adam says his experience couldn’t have been better.
“It’s been quite remarkable the difference it makes to have a functioning kidney. I didn’t realize how poorly I’d felt.”
Adam has also made peace with the fact that someone else had to lose a loved one for him to receive that life-changing phone call. He credits the donor families he met two years ago through the Driven2SaveLives campaign.
“That experience of talking to people who had lost loved ones and hearing their experience with the donation process and how that helped with their grieving – it gave me a different perspective.” Less than two months after surgery, Adam is feeling good – and grateful. “At some point, I want to reach out to my donor family and give thanks and let them know where this life-saving gift went and what we’re doing with it.”
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