Hello and welcome to the Gifted Life podcast where we have conversations about organ tissue and eye donation and transplantation. You can always find us at thegiftedlife.org. We hope you spread the word on that. I'm Laurie Steep.
Hi, I'm Joey Goodrum. And I'm Nyla Schwab. Coming up on this episode of The Gifted Life. You'll be hearing from my very own senior world, Louisiana, who also happens to be a kitty donor.
Her story next. Yeah, and we're going to talk about what hat or what role we're standing in. All right. All that and more on the Gifted Life episode 256.
Let's go. Welcome back to the Gifted Life everyone. We're making new friends today. Ah, we love it.
Ms. Jerry Gill is joining us by phone. Hi, Ms. Jerry.
Good. We are so excited to have you on. We recently met a Miss Louisiana's team, Miss Louisiana's team, Virginia Kirkpatrick. And understand you're also royalty, ma'am.
Well, Louisiana in the 60s, pageantry ever. Oh, how exciting. Congratulations. I mean, your pictures are amazing, but how does one get into that?
The easiest way would be to go to Ms. Senior, and that's MS, seniorworldpagence.com. And there's all kinds of information there on how to get involved. But you decided that's something you wanted to try in your 60s?
And actually, it wasn't my idea. A friend presented the idea to me and essentially nominated me. And then I was approved by the staff, the system, to represent Louisiana in my age group. And so that's how it all began.
Now initially, I was not really interested because I have no pageant experience. But when I took some time to think about it, I took a few days to think about it and decided wait a minute now, I may be missing an opportunity here because this could be a great way for me to expand my platform on organization advocacy. So that's when I decided, yes, I am going to do this. And then you won.
Then you were crowned. So you must have done something really great. And then yes, we do want to talk about your advocacy because we were talking here as we were prepping for your interview. And we just heard so many great things, but you're a living kidney donor.
And that was back in 2018. So we want to know all about it, ma'am. Well, it has a unique story. What happened was I had back years ago, I wasn't even aware that you could live with one kidney, quite honestly.
I was only talking about maybe less than a decade ago. And there was a story that went viral on Facebook about a woman who was going to be donating a kidney to her husband, but she did all the testing without him knowing. And so there was the video where she's letting him know that she's going to donate to him. So that's kind of where the seed was planted for me.
And that was about 2017. And then the end of 2017, a friend of mine's husband was receiving a kidney from actually a family member brother. And so that's sort of I like to call it water to seed for me because I hadn't done anything at first. I was curious and thinking this might be something I want to do.
But when that happened, that sort of revived that in me and pushed me to go ahead and look into it. So I was on vacation at the beach. And the very first night that I was there, I went on to the Mayo Clinic site and signed up to be screened to be a donor. So this is a day after Christmas 2017.
But you didn't know anybody in need? You just said I'm going to do this? Right. I was just going to donate to whomever, whoever could use my spare kidney.
And then six days later, I ended up returning home early for my vacation. And I'm sitting in my recliner, looking at Facebook. And all of a sudden pops up this Facebook post from a woman that I did not know, but she was in my new seed. And she had expressed that she was going through dialysis.
And she said something to the effect, God willing, I will find someone special that will donate a kidney for me. And this, by the way, was on New Year's Day because like I said, six days after Christmas. So on New Year's Day, she posted this. And within minutes, I saw it.
And I immediately responded and told her that I had just six days before signed up to be screened by Mayo Clinic for kidney donation, but that I hadn't heard back from anyone yet because it was a holiday. So I told her I would be willing to look into donating for her. We already knew that we had the same blood type because that was in her post. And I knew I was no positive.
She was a positive. So I knew that was the head to be a good start, right? And then I ended up contacting her case worker and four vials of blood later and 16 mornings. I got the phone call that I was a match for her.
And I got to be the one to let her know. I agree with that. Yeah, so you can imagine how thrilled she was because she had been on dialysis at this point for upwards of like seven years. Oh, man.
And her whole family suffers, I say her whole family suffers. Of course they all suffer whether they have polycystic kidney disease or not. The whole family suffers. About 50% of them as she explained to me have this disease.
So it's not like she can get a kidney from a family member, right? You know, that's not usually going to be the case when it comes to PKD that runs with the family. So she was just absolutely thrilled and so grateful. And moving on from there, I had to go through six months of testing before I could be approved, before the transplant team would agree to take my kidney because I have POTS, postural or the static tachycardia syndrome.
And to my knowledge, oxygen or transplant institute had never dealt with a living donor, a kidney donor that had POTS. So there was a great deal of testing. It was like upwards of around 70 tests, including all the labs, all the scans, everything. And finally in late June, I believe it was perhaps early July of 2018, I got the calls, finally the good call.
I've been getting calls, but I was waiting for the call that they would finally agree to take my kidney and they did. And I was told in that phone call that I get to choose when it will happen. And I was really excited to hear that because I knew exactly when I wanted it to happen. I knew that Angela, my recipient, her birthday, was coming up on August the 20th.
And that was also my, going to be my daughter's 33rd, my oldest daughter's 33rd birthday. And I mentioned that to the case worker that this was the date I wanted. And she said, oh, but they only do them living donations on Mondays. I didn't know this.
So she took a quick look at the calendar and lo and behold, August the 20th, 2018 was on Monday. So now Angela and I at this point had not met face to face. We had not met. In fact, we had actually only communicated via Facebook Messenger.
We had never even talked on the phone before. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that you're curious and you want to kind of get to know the person. But there's also this part of you that kind of wants to hold back a little bit in case bad news comes, you know, you haven't gotten back close. That's the only thing I can say.
I think it's a subconscious thing, quite frankly. But anyway, we scheduled to have a family meet up at a restaurant in Hammond on August the 10th, 10 days before her birthday, before the transplant day. And it was a magical experience walking into this private dining room with her close family, my closest family. And as soon as I saw her, she was already there ahead of me.
As soon as I walked in the door, she got up. She walked towards each other and just gave each other a big, long hug. Like we had been long, long sisters that hadn't seen each other in years. And it was great.
We had a wonderful dinner together. And then 10 days later, we showed up in New Orleans at Oxford and the donation happened. And we've been in touch ever since. She has spells of, here are times as a lot of transplant patients do, dealing with medication adjustments or complications that can come along.
That's certainly not rare when it comes to transplantation. Otherwise, we're doing great. I did have some trouble because of the fact that I had pots, but it wasn't something that was long term. I just went into a pot splayer that lasted for a matter of weeks.
And then I got through that. So we're doing great. So take us through that though. So, you know, there's a lot of fear from many out there that are afraid to donate a kidney because they're so afraid of the process, the procedure, and then after.
So take us through that. So was there anything that was complicated or was it pretty smooth? And when you woke up, how'd you feel? Yes, of course, you're going to have your typical post-surgery discomfort.
To be honest, though, I was more dealing with the pots side of it, the pots flare of it. That was the critical part of it. And so I ended up having to stay in the hospital for longer than anticipated. So really, as far as the actual, it wasn't so much the kidney surgery itself that I think triggered the flare as it was being under the anesthesia for a long period of time, which of course, with any major surgery, you're going to be.
I have now learned that major surgeries, evidently due to the long period of anesthesia, is what triggers pots flares in me. I did not know that before, but having donated, having gone through this process, I now know. So that was a silver lining, but there was another silver lining. I had been struggling with pots for many years, and it wasn't until my stay in the hospital after donation when a cardiologist came in and recommended I try a medication that I had never tried before.
And in fact, my first doctor, an electrophysiologist, told me that they would never put me on that medication because I tend to run low blood pressure, not high blood pressure with my pots. It was a beta blocker, it was the medication. And he put me on that, and it actually gave me my life back. See, when I first signed up to be a donor, I actually had a pick line in my arm and was receiving a liter of fluids two or three times a week.
So I had to manage to get off of the IV fluids and manage to maintain my fluids on my own before I could donate. That was part of the six month process. And I have not had to have a pick line or fluids except when I've had minor procedures, it's just an automatic thing. They do for me when they give me IV fluids, but I've not had to have a pick line since that post donation.
So the beta blocker was a magical peel that I needed, and had I not donated, I probably steal to this day, may not know that the beta blocker was exactly what I needed. Yeah, it's crazy. In essence, you're healthier than you were before the surgery. Exactly.
I could go back to living my active lifestyle that I've so much enjoyed all my life, and I couldn't back then. And now I can, and it's wonderful. So for me, it's like there really was a silver lining to this, even though I had to go through a tough spell there for a couple of months in recovering, not from the kidney being taken, but from the pot's player. It was all worth it for the silver lining.
But then there's also the aspect of the way one feels after they have donated a kidney or be it and perhaps, you know, liver donation. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that you have not only saved someone's life because Alice is only going to keep someone alive for so long in most cases, but also improve the quality of one's life. And there's just no, there's no better feeling than knowing that. And I get to selfishly enjoy that feeling for the rest of my life.
That's really beautiful. You know, I was going to ask what one piece of advice would you give someone who's thinking about being a living donor? I would do, I would do what something that I did. I had four grown children at the time, all four grown children.
I approached them individually, one by one, not together because I didn't want like a group census opinion on donating. I wanted to get each one's blessing if they were willing to get it individually. And I did. Each one of them were okay with what I was doing and gave me their blessing.
And then I saved my mother for last. I even got her blessing as well. So I think it's important to that your family be on board. And I think that it's important to do your homework, do your research, talk to other living donors.
I'm certainly happy to talk to anybody and everybody I can about donation, be it they're already considering it or already in the process. Or just think, you know, maybe they'd like to talk about it. I'm certainly happy to do that. And anyone can reach me at j-e-r-i-g-i-l-l at rocketmail.com.
That's my name, Jerry Gill, at rocketmail.com. I'm happy to connect with you in that way. And then we can talk on the phone if need be. More than happy to do that.
That's what my platform is all about is promoting organ donation. Yeah, that's where I wanted to go next. So you're the 2025 Miss Senior World Louisiana, which is amazing. And so I hear I haven't been in pageants right now as a marching band.
But we hear that they get the platform. I do as a pepster. I love it. I love it.
So your platform is about donation and just. It's a working donation. Yeah. Not just not just a living donation, but also a organ donation registry.
Just as well. Yeah. So you just talked about I'm happy to have these conversations where you're able to do it on a larger scale and use your crown to do it. So how is that going for you now?
And then we understand you're going towards a bigger competition later in the year. So kind of fill us in on your advocacy and how you're doing that and what you're doing. Right. We expand on my platform.
In fact, I would say every week I'm expanding more and more because Word is getting out. And the pageantry is really a big help to that, a huge help to that quite frankly. I've had several newspaper articles done. And then of course, as you say, I've got the Miss Senior World pageant coming up.
And November, I actually arrived in Beluxi, where the pageant will be on my birthday, on November 10th. I'll turn 61 on that day. And then it's a week long pageant event. And the finale of it will be on that Saturday, November 15th at the Beluxi Civic Center.
So I'm really looking forward to that. And I would love to win so that I can continue to expand on my platform and continue with organization awareness. One, just think of what you've done so far. It looks like it's pretty good in a way.
Yes, I can do it either way, but it would give me even more opportunity to expand on my platform. Yes, I saw a piece in the Livingston Parish News, our local paper, since you and I are from the same slice of heaven there. So we appreciate you doing that, because I think you're reaching people that normally wouldn't. And that's supposed to come out today.
I still got to go run to town and see if I can find me. It's online, of course. Since that one came out in the 27th, I believe, of May. But in print, I believe it's today's issue.
Well, how wonderful. And that's our local historian, that paper. So that's pretty cool that you're in there and telling your story. And so we certainly appreciate you doing that.
I think you're a great representative, not only for our parish, but for our state. And so we just appreciate you trying to save more lives and doing what you're doing and educating and having those positive conversations. And like we said, reaching people that probably wouldn't talk about donation or take the time to even learn about it without someone like you and influencer jumping in. So kudos to you, ma'am.
Yeah, I'm kidding. So there's, I imagine there are still a lot of people out there that don't realize that. And that's what I want to make them aware of. And so they can start thinking about it.
Just think about it and see if it might be something that they would be interested in doing. We talk about that here, too. What does it take for someone to say? Like we can think about it.
Like I wish you probably donated kidney if I can or whatever. But then to go through all the steps, I'm like you said the six month wait. I'm proud of it. Yeah.
But you did it. And so it wouldn't normally be a six month wait. But it was for me because of having pods. Otherwise this could have happened much faster.
Could have been two or three months or something, but it was a longer process for me. And you still pushed forward. Well, thanks for your time today here on The Gifted Life. We learned a lot.
And I will be rooting for you, ma'am. Yes, indeed. Good luck. Well, thank you very much.
I appreciate that. Thanks for having me. I'm glad you guys have. We probably should have different hats if you could put one on that says dad.
Yeah. It was lunch. Yeah. It was lunch.
You know, brother. So I think that we all have parts to us. And I think they mesh so much. And that's what made me think of this topic.
Because there is this woman that goes around and she trains like in the sheriff departments. Because these sheriffs, they are out working their front line. And then when they come home, it's hard to switch from being a sheriff and being on guard and being so serious to being that father or that partner. Normal.
Yeah. And so I think this is such a great suggestion. So in this training, it's like, OK, so what do you do to change roles? So one, when you step into a role, or you're stepping out of a role, how do you make that shift?
So do you want to do something physical? For instance, it suggests, well, this couple decided that they would, when the sheriff came home, the partner would not say anything to the sheriff, give him space. And he would go upstairs, pick a shower, and change clothes, and come back down. And then he was ready to be the partner.
And so I thought that's really a cool idea. Because what could you do? Because sometimes I feel like I step in to my teenager or my husband. And I'm still at work.
Mentally, I'm still at work. So what can you do to switch? How y'all switch? I need a nap sometimes.
Oh, that's so good. But I did the changing of the clue. Like, you go on, athletic wear or something like that. I need to go walk outside.
I need a breather for a second. And I think my family has trained to know like, super five minutes. Yeah. It's funny.
So when I get back home from, and it's usually, you know, it's not super intense every day, but a lot of days are pretty intense. And so I get home. And a lot of times, of course, I have a four-year-old. And she doesn't understand that.
But I finally have gotten her to the point where she understands just at least my whole thing is exactly what Laurie said. I have to go and change. I just have to change. It's like a change is all right.
I went from my work self to now I'm home self. And it allows me to kind of transition in my mind while I'm doing this metaphorical change. So it's big. Yeah, it is.
It is because in counseling, they teach you how to prepare yourself. So when you sit in front of a client, you're with them. You're listening. And so I have a friend that frontline worker and just called me out of the blue and said, hey, now you got a second.
I suggest. And man, they just dropped something on me. I mean, like so big. And mentally, I mean, like a vision that they were struggling with.
And it's almost like they gave it to me. And I remember it took weeks because I was not prepared for that conversation. It came at me so quickly. And so I think in our roles, all the different roles we play, whether it's shifting very quickly to I'm talking to Laurie, you know, and we're chatting to Joy, you walk in, and then you've got to have a serious conversation.
I mean, sometimes that shift is so quick, but we have to pause for a second and think about what had him about to put on. And so I think that's really having a physical something to do can help to be a reminder. But it would be cool that like if we could have had. Like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
And like what had him up in the morning right now. Give me a minute. All right, awesome. Maybe have a topic you like for us to cover here on the Gifted Life, happy to do it.
Simply email us at info at thegiftedlife.org. In every episode of the Gifted Life, we honor a hero. Today's hero is Lainey Glaze. And we learn about Lainey from her family.
Lainey was a 15 year old girl who was beautiful, kind, fun-loving, silly, goofy, loving, caring, kind, and free-spirited. She left sunsets, rivers, creeks, the beach, going to the lakefront, swimming, reading, listening to music, going on family vacations, hanging out with friends and helping others. She truly touched so many hearts and lives in her life and continued to touch hearts and lives in her death. She was one of my heroes, as her siblings and nieces and nephews were my other heroes.
And she is now the hero to many others. She could walk in any room and just break it up with her infectious smile and laugh to the families that received any part of her, especially her heart. I truly wish you all the very best and please take care of my baby girl for me as you now have a part of her. I made the decision to donate for my baby girl, which was very hard to do as it was admitting my baby was gone because it would have been what she truly wanted.
She truly loved helping others and she became the true meaning of a hero. Live like Lainey forever, 15. We pause and say thank you to Lainey for the gift of life. That is gonna do it for episode 256 of The Gifted Life.
Thanks for listening friends and remember, you can register as an organ eye and tissue donor anytime, just visit registerme.org. Very special thanks to our guest, Ms. Jerry Gill for showing us and allowing us to learn a little bit more about living donation, living, being a living kidney donor. And it's pretty amazing.
Every time I hear someone that does it altruistic with no ties, it's always incredible. I just wrote it on Facebook and said, that's what I'm gonna help see. That's crazy. I'm trying to figure out what I wanna do when I grow up and here she is, I'm gonna figure it out.
And then using donation and allowing donation, organization to be her platform. Very unique. Huge congratulations for becoming the senior world, Louisiana, and certainly good luck in the future there. Yeah, she's living big.
You know, just doing big things. What's my example? The best place to find us guys and find more of these incredible stories is at our website, thegiftedlife.org. Listen there and find links to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, wherever you listen to podcast.
And if you listen on Apple Podcasts, please leave us a five star rating. It really helps others find us. We know you're scrolling on social media, like Ms. Jerry, we hope that you like our Facebook page.
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Until next time.