[Fredslist] Great website for coordinating volunteers and caregivers (and happy tale of using it)

[Jane Beddall]

Gotham,

It is a joy to share this information:

_About the website_: A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was a live kidney 
donor (a little more about that wonderful story below.)  She is in her 
mid-fifties, lives alone, no spouse or partner, no kids, nearest 
relatives 300 miles away. In the weeks leading up to her surgery, 
friends used a fantastic website, http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com, to 
create a way to support her effectively and easily. We used a calendar 
to sign up for commitments: drive to pre- and post-op appointments, 
drive her to the hospital and home, stay in the hospital for a few hours 
with her, cook meals, lift heavy things at home, etc. I lost count at 
fifteen different people involved. We also had a place to share contact 
info, photos, updates, and well wishes. I highly recommend it for 
situations where people genuinely want to help, and the hardest parts 
are knowing what is needed and how to volunteer! Please spread the word 
about this fabulous resource.

_About the live kidney donation_: The recipient is someone the donor has 
known, not as a close friend, for ten years or so. He is in his mid- to 
late- forties, with a wife and two daughters. His kidney disease came on 
fast and furious. His brother volunteered to donate, but was rejected as 
a candidate. A plea went out far and wide, and the friend I am proud to 
know answered the call. The best photo on our coordination webpage shows 
the recipient (the many tubes attached not visible) and donor in the 
donor's room after he walked across the transplant unit the same day as 
their surgeries! 24 hours after surgery, the donor was disconnected from 
all her tubes, including IV pain meds; 24 hours after that she took her 
first pain pills -- tylenol. (She wasn't a martyr when she declined 
tramadol; she just didn't need it.) I drove her home 48 hours after 
surgery, where another friend met us and then stayed until the donor's 
sister arrived for the weekend. Within two weeks the donor was back at 
work part-time, not by necessity but by choice. And the recipient is 
doing fine, as well. Both of them are inspiring people!

-- 
Jane Beddall, M.A., J.D.
Dovetail Resolutions, LLC
203.887.1160
24 Dixwell Ave. #214
New Haven, CT 06511
jb at dovetailresolutions.com
http://www.dovetailresolutions.com

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