LIVING WITH AGENT ORANGE: Joy's Journey- in search for a Kidney Donor 4yrs

Joy's Journey- in search for a Kidney Donor 4yrs
Joy is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran exposed to agent orange and member of Agent Orange Legacy.

Yulonda "Joy" Beatty

Yulonda “Joy” Beatty is a courageous young woman who has battled with Systemic Lupus for 22 years. Lupus is an autoimmune disease which attacks various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. Yulonda’s kidneys are now under attack, causing chronic renal failure. Yulonda has been faced with many medical challenges and hospitalizations, and a kidney transplant is now her only chance of survival. In spite of her illness, Yulonda has shown incredible strength and tenacity. Yulonda has her BA from Hampton, University and her MBA from Howard, University. Her determination and will to live is incredibly admirable, thus, there is Joy in her Journey!!!!!!

Yulonda is on the kidney transplant list at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA and is in need of a kidney donor.

If you think you may be interested in being my donor please contact Jenny McGraft at 404-727-8973 or Susan Boteres at 404 712-4450. Transplant Cordinators at Emory Hospital.
Positions

1. http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingDonors/DonatingSpecificPerson.cfm

2. http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingDonors/LookingLivingDonor.cfm

3. http://client.gatransplant.org/Client/ybeatty

Here's what Yulonda wrote recently:

I got some very disappointing news yesterday. My potential kidney donor really let me down...you know the type that talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk. See I know things happen, life happens, unexpected situations and circumstances beyond our control, change of plans, turn of events, etc.. but if you are to busy to even send an email or text letting a person know,"hey Yulonda, A, B or C is going on right now, I sincerely want to be your kidney donor, but some unexpected events have transpired, just keep your options open and continue to spread the word.” well that never happened so I'm back to the drawing board.

Every day, we face choices that pit our own, valid, needs against the needs of others. We may want very much to volunteer our time, donate money and lend a helping hand, but we still have to hold onto our jobs and feed and clothe our own families. We can’t always do as much as we’d like, but I realize even being on dialysis, 3 times a week, struggling with chronic pain every day, that if only for 30 mins a week that I can and should do more.

Letter to a friend:
Hey Friend, sorry I haven't gotten back with you, but I've been in the hospital from January 15th- 26th ( my Birthday was on the 19th...then went back in the hospital on the 30th till the 31st. Basically, the dialysis graph in my arm(a tubing that becomes an artificial vein that can be used repeatedly for needle placement and blood access during dialysis) became infested. The infection then spread to my blood stream, then my heart causing congestive heart failure and to my lungs, causing pneumonia. That wasn't even the major problem. The major problem was the type of infestion I had. Its called MRSA for short(Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a strain of staph bacteria that's become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary staph infections. Most MRSA infections occur in people who have been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers).
As a result, I had to have an operation where they removed the infected graph tubing from my arm. The surgery took 6hrs and I lost 2 units of blood so I had to have a blood transfusion during surgery, then overnight I bleed so much through my dressings that I lost another 2 units that morning units of blood, so I had to have another blood transfusion. Right, know I have a catheter in my chest that they use for dialysis(which means no more needles for a while.. I am hopping that I will get a transplant soon so that I won't have to get another graft put in my right arm..Right now the docs say that the infection is gone, but I will be on antibiotic for another 4 weeks or so..Nonetheless, I am a warrior, though the enemy tries to knock me down, I ALWAYS get back up, brush my shoulders off and keep on looking to GOD! He is my strength.

Anyway, my doctor is urging me to get another graft, this time in my right arm which is my dominant arm, because the first one I had was in my left arm got infected and they can't use that arm anymore. Right now I have a temporary port in my chest which causes a higher risk for infection. I was trying to avoid having to get another graft altogether, because I have really tiny veins which make the surgery very difficult, in addition to getting potential blood clots, scar tissue and ofcourse, infection. Nonetheless, I have have to make this happen soon.

Yes, I am frustrated, tired and weary and really don’t want to get another graft in my arm, but I have to be REALISTIC and do what’s best for me and my health. With this said, I am not asking for your sympathy nor a way for you “to help me get through the process” I already know how to get through the process and that is through Christ whom I know is my hope and my strength. I just want to keep you informed and explain why I am in dire need of a kidney transplant.