I talk about it with my parents…that life can be crappy, and we have to get through it. And just a bunch of stuff, like eating and drinking and blood tests and this and that and more stuff. And that I am able to do different things.
But I guess mostly I try not to think about it. It’s not easy, but it’s not, like, super hard having a transplant. An interesting experience though.
Walter, 11
I know I have to
PT’s still hard, because I lost all my energy that I recently built up. So I’m like, “Aww, I don’t want to do that. It’s too hard!” I just do it, because I know I have to. In order to get better, I have to do it.
I talk to my boyfriend a lot, because he knows what I’m going through, and my niece. She’s 9.
Jess, 18
Meditation
I had also been involved with the social worker before transplant, which I found extremely helpful. And I use a lot of hypnosis. I used it before surgery- I actually did a hypnosis suggestion going into anesthesia for my transplant- and I also found it helpful during recovery. I’ve done it for a lot of things, and the doctors said that they probably used between 40 and 50% less pain medication than they would have needed had I not used hypnosis. So I found the meditation helpful, I found family helpful, and I definitely think that you should get linked up beforehand with someone you trust for social work. I also think support groups can be wonderful, as is being able to call somebody up on the phone to talk.
Anonymous
My family is always there for me. They’re a huge, huge support. And friends, and even doctors, they were all super nice and super generous. But when I was growing up I didn’t discuss it. My parents and doctors would always have to be the ones being like, “Are you okay? Do you feel okay?” I wouldn’t complain.
Katie, 19
Health scare
They were testing me for EBV, and when they did the lab, wow, my liver numbers were, like, 240! They were crazy high.
I have a wonderful best friend who I was texting in the hospital the whole time! She’s a great friend, and I just talked to her about it. And my parents again of course were there for me. They talked to me about it, and that was good.
Katie, 19
Wanting to vent
I go to my mom, my mom’s a big person. And then I have a friend that has been with me throughout; we’ve been friends for a really, really long time. I talk to her if I’m stressed, or if I want to vent about, like, “Oh, I hate having to drink all this water all the time!”
I go out with her a lot too, so if I need to go home and get something, then she’ll be fine.
Samantha, 22