The Greatest Act of Selflessness: Kimberly’s Kidney Donation Experience [E160]

By Carman Capriotto | 04/15/2024 |

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In this podcast episode, Kimberly and Chris Cotton reflect on Kimberly’s kidney donation to her brother. They delve into her recovery, the physical and emotional challenges she faced, and the importance of a compression belt post-surgery. Chris shares his concerns for Kimberly’s well-being and discusses the adjustments her brother had to make due to the kidney size difference. They also cover her brother’s recovery, the medical procedures he underwent, and the impact on his mental health. The episode concludes with a call to consider organ donation, and Chris thanks Kimberly for sharing her story, highlighting the significance of organ donor registration.

Chris Cotton (00:00:09) – Are you ready to supercharge your auto repair business? This is coach Chris Cotton from Auto Fix Auto shop coaching. The weekly blitz is where industry expertise and business innovation collide. Revenue engines for the week ahead. Every episode has game changing insights, up to the minute industry updates and practical tips to shift your business into high gear. We’re talking about stuff you didn’t even know. You didn’t know people. Make sure to check out one of the other great podcasts on the aftermarket radio network. Big shout out to our awesome sponsor shop Marketing pros. Top tier marketing for not just any audience, but the right audience. Shop marketing Pros connects your European or diesel repair shop with car enthusiasts who value expertise, the auto repair experience and a great relationship. Go pro with Shop marketing Pros your ticket to top tier results. Find out how they can feel your success at shop marketing pros.com/chris. So here we are. Kimberly, we’re. This is episode 160, and the original cut we did was episode 150. So if you haven’t gone back and listen and listen to that, you can,, if you want to catch up where we’re at.

Chris Cotton (00:01:16) – So we are titling this Loosely Catching Up with Kimberly or follow up, and this is the follow up episode to The Kidney Donation. So in the previous episode, we talked about everything that we did running up to it. We’ve had the,, actual donation and what are we, six weeks past now?
Kimberly Cotton (00:01:41) – It’ll be seven weeks on Thursday.
Chris Cotton (00:01:43) – Seven weeks on Thursday. I don’t even know where all the time went. I don’t even know how 1010 episodes elapsed either. But,, but this is amazing. So. Even even people that talked to me last week still ask me this week how she’s doing. So who better than than my lovely wife Kimberly, to come in here and talk a little bit, talk about the donation and,, and kind of catch us up. So,, how are you doing?
Kimberly Cotton (00:02:14) – I’m doing physically. I’m doing really well. Mentally, I’m doing really well., but I have started to notice,, I do have limitations still., I want to get back.
Kimberly Cotton (00:02:28) – I want to be like I was before surgery. I could just go and do anything at the gym I wanted to, and now I have to really be careful on how much weight I’m lifting. I have to be careful the classes I’m taking because I am still feeling throughout the day. In the morning I’m great. It’s usually in the afternoon and it’s my back and strangely enough, it just starts to ache. It doesn’t really hurt, it just takes a little bit. And so I just have to remind myself, you’re only, you know, six weeks out of surgery. You have to give yourself some grace., but I all of my incisions from the surgery are healing great., I haven’t had any issues with that., a week and a half after the surgery, my doctor released me to get back to normal activities., he did say, you know, don’t lift anything over £30 and, you know, don’t do any kickboxing classes or, you know, classes like that., but he said, yes, you are looking great.
Kimberly Cotton (00:03:35) – You just resume your normal activities.
Chris Cotton (00:03:39) – And, and so that’s where we’re that’s where we’re at now. And I’m going to rewind here just a little bit and talk about, you know, kind of the run up to surgery and everything. But you know, I, I kind of knew this was how this was going to go because I know you, you’re like, you like to push things and they are pretty much everything they’ve told us, like, okay, this is going to happen here. This is going to happen here., and they said, like, it’s going to take six months for you to get back to quote unquote, normal. And I think you forget that sometimes that,,, they told you six months and you’re like, I know you’re superwoman, but sometimes, you know, you got to slow down.
Kimberly Cotton (00:04:15) – I do forget that I’ve donate a kidney. I literally do forget., because physically you can’t tell., it’s all like, internal. And if you didn’t know me, you wouldn’t know that that’s what happened.
Kimberly Cotton (00:04:31) – , so yes, I do have a problem with containing myself, and I. I’m humbled. Just about every day my body says, okay, that’s enough. Stop. So. Yes.
Chris Cotton (00:04:43) – Well, and I will tell everybody that’s listening. She’s like swimming on Tuesdays. She’s doing her kickboxing now., she rides her bicycle to the gym. So she’s she’s pretty much getting after it, maybe not quite as hard, but she’s, she’s, she’s doing great. And and I love you so much for doing this for your brother. And I still think I’m amazed every day, but the fact that you could do it because I know I couldn’t. There’s no way. So. So last time we talked to people, we were kind of giving them the rundown of the way we thought things were going to happen. And so I kind of wanted to follow up on what actually happened,, like the run up to the surgery, if you can maybe just go back and tell us, like, like you and I drove to Tulsa, we got into the Airbnb and kind of just take it from there a little bit, and we’ll just work forward from there.
Kimberly Cotton (00:05:35) – So,, two days after we made it to Tulsa, we had a follow up., basically they wanted to retest everything. So,, my brother and I both at the same time, went to the hospital and we did,, an EKG. We had blood tests., we did all kinds of different stuff., at that time, they gave me information that I was going to need for the surgery. Now, knowing that. I may not still be a match. Something else could have gone wrong between that appointment and the donation, which was a week away. So even though we are doing this and they’re giving me all instructions for the surgery, it’s still not a guarantee. And so we had to keep thinking about that., so we had the appointment pretty much all day, you know, met with, the nephrologist again and the, the kidney center., again, they’re saying, you know, you can still back out. This is still your choice., we won’t tell your brother any, you know, just, you know, something else happened, and not that you would have pulled out.
Kimberly Cotton (00:06:44) – And it never even crossed my mind to not go through with the donation. I mean, it just. It is what it is. I was going to do it no matter what., so then after that Wednesday,, it was pretty much just a waiting game until we heard from my kidney advocate., the next Tuesday. So we did all the testing on that Wednesday. Then we had to wait until the next Monday and I had to have a Covid test., and then after that, it was again, you were just waiting. And then Tuesday afternoon., they finally called and said, okay, all the cross matches are still good. Everybody’s healthy. Covid was negative., so we’re good to go. So even though we thought we were good to go and the surgery was scheduled, it’s never really a done deal till the final. Okay. Everybody’s good to go. So then it was just another, you know, let’s see. That was Tuesday. So the rest of Tuesday, all day Wednesday I had to not eat or drink anything, but I couldn’t eat anything on that Wednesday it was an all liquid diet.
Kimberly Cotton (00:07:54) – And then after midnight on that night, I couldn’t have anything to eat or drink,, through the surgery. So I’d been fasting. I’ve been doing some, some of that, so I was comfortable with that. It was still hard., I was still, you know, I still wanted to eat, but I made it just fine., but I was getting very antsy. I just I wanted to get it done. I everything was good. I’m like, why do we have to wait? But that’s when we had it scheduled for that Thursday. So it was just a waiting game at that point., so I tried to get out and walk a couple times a day just to get, you know, fresh air,, get my mind off of it. Which helped., and then my mom and dad showed up that Wednesday evening as well. So that helped me take my mind off of it, too. So they come over,. And stayed for another week and a half after that, just to take care of me and make sure I was doing okay, and basically to say, hey, you don’t need to be doing that.
Kimberly Cotton (00:08:58) – But so anyway,, everything’s good to go. We wake up at 4:00 on Thursday morning. My brother and sister in law actually come pick us up. So we don’t have too many vehicles at the hospital and we make it to the hospital. We get all checked in., and then they called me back first, and. That was it. That was like, okay. That was the point where I was like, okay, this is real. And for me, until something happens, it’s not really real. When they called me back, my brother gave me the biggest hug and said, I want to thank you so much for doing this for me. So he gave me the big hug. It was hard for him to let go, but he let go and they took me back to my room. And so.
Chris Cotton (00:09:50) – So I’m going to I’m going to stop you for just a second right there. So if, if anybody out there is listening, never experience this., I knew where we were going and I’d seen the room before.
Chris Cotton (00:10:03) – I really didn’t know kind of my part in all this, which is not super important other than just support. But,, you know, in hindsight that day. No, I don’t think they prepared us for that day or they didn’t prepare me., because we walk in there and they’re doing, I think, 96 surgeries that same day, everything from kidney transplants to heart transplants to there was a lady there that was there to get her,, leg amputated from diabetes,, pacemakers, everything. And all this is happening at once. Every person individually has their own team the, the, the donor, the recipient. And it was really, really something. It was interesting to watch. And again, like Kimberly said, we got there, you know, 430 in the morning and they were done with all the surgeries. By 530 that afternoon. They had like everybody off to recovery. The, the,, the rooms were empty, but basically we got like a little cubicle for the family to sit in, and they called us every hour,, to update us, the nurse did to let us know that we’re okay and or that Kimberly’s okay, not us.
Chris Cotton (00:11:13) – Okay? We’re just fine and kind of keep us apprised of all the situations that’s going. So that’s kind of what I was doing during the day sitting, waiting, managing family and things like that. So,, so, okay, so you saw your brother,, I think I was back there with you until somewhere around that point, and then the nurse finally says, well, okay, you can’t back out at this point. We’re a go. We’re go for liftoff. So,, I give you a hug and a kiss. Take your glasses or put it in the bag and they wheel you out. So if you want to pick it back up from there, then then that would be great.
Kimberly Cotton (00:11:49) – So,, right before she says, okay, we’re good to go, the surgeon comes in, he’s like, okay, there’s you know, he marks the spot, literally marks the spot where, you know, things are going to happen. And so then the two little air ladies come in and they wheeled me down the hall.
Kimberly Cotton (00:12:08) – We were supposed to have rooms right next to each other, but,, that didn’t happen. So as they were wheeling me back to the E.R.,, or the E.R., the operating room,, I saw my. They’d paused at my brother’s door, and that’s when it got me. I had been fine. I hadn’t cried or anything until that point, and I paused and I said, okay, I’ll see you on the other side. And he said, thank you again, I love you. And I’m crying as she’s willing me back. I’m fine. Nobody else is with me. It’s just the poor ladies listening to me cry with me. Back to the operating room. But once I’m through the doors, it was. It happened so fast.. They killed me in. They got the table ready that I was going to be on. They scooted me over. They laid me on my side. They put the oxygen mask on me, and I didn’t even count to ten. And I was out.
Kimberly Cotton (00:13:14) – I don’t remember anything after that. The only the next time I woke up was in the recovery, and I had lots of blankets on me because I think I was shivering because it was cold., and I just remember I had two nurses continuously checking on me. How are you doing? Do you need this? Do you need that? And the only thing I said was, is where’s my husband? Can I see my husband? And so I think that’s at the point. They went and got you and brought you back. The problem was, is I had to stay in recovery for quite some time. Our surgery was early and so it lasted, what, four hours, I think something like that.
Chris Cotton (00:13:56) – Yeah. They, they told they pretty much told us this is a four hour surgery and, and we’re going to have you because of the staging and everything. I guess they give you kind of like they give you like an hour headstart and then and then then they start start on, started on your brother and and then they’ve got your kidney, which they, the doctor said, hey, it looks pink.
Chris Cotton (00:14:20) – It’s great. We cleaned it up. And so basically they will you out to recovery and then and then clean up the kidney, get it put into your brother and and then he’s off and going. But, yeah we had a trouble. We had trouble getting into the actual,, the room that we that not not not I guess ICU or recovery, but your actual room that we stayed in for two nights. Yeah., so you were done by 11, and I think we had you in your room by five. So we kind of sat around for spent more time sitting around trying to get you into another room than than the operation took.
Kimberly Cotton (00:14:59) – Yeah., luckily I slept a lot during that time., so it wasn’t too bad for me., it was just. I was just down there for a long time, so. Not a big deal. They got me up into a room., and actually, I, I was hungry,, when we finally did make it up to the room,, so I, I think we had tried to order something through the hospital, but they, the time had passed when they were delivering meals and stuff.
Kimberly Cotton (00:15:31) – , I did you bring me something or did I? I don’t even remember what I had that I.
Chris Cotton (00:15:36) – Think I think we, I think I got you, I was able to get you something that you could eat.
Kimberly Cotton (00:15:41) – I don’t think I was very hungry, but I wanted something small, so.
Chris Cotton (00:15:45) – Well. And and to give everybody like the idea of the recovery room you’re in, basically, it’s just like a long row of beds with like 10 to 15 slots on either side. And when I first went down there, you didn’t have anybody next to you. So then we got you some ice water. I think we got you some pudding then or something. Yeah., but because the HIPAA regulations, they were bringing other people down on either side of you, and they had me leave. Yeah., but so we. So we got you to the room and kind of settled in a little bit., and we were trying to manage your pain, and I think, I think one of the important things, if you’re listening and you’re going to go through this out there, they talk about this.
Chris Cotton (00:16:32) – It’s not a phantom pain. But what happens is, is where the kidney was. And they insert these robot fingers inside your body and they blow up your abdomen with nitrogen. And and they do this with a robot. And they try to get all the air out, but they can’t. And what happens is, is the air or the nitrogen that’s left pushes on your diaphragm. And when that happens, your body thinks your shoulder hurts. So it has this like tremendous pain in your shoulder. And I’ve seen Kimberly,, give birth. I’ve seen her do all kinds of stuff in 25 plus years that we’ve been together. And I’ve never heard her. Yell in pain or anything like that. And oh, maybe that’s what had happened. I’d gone and got you something to eat. And then I went and got me something to eat. And when I was coming back, I heard you hollering down the hallway I had.
Kimberly Cotton (00:17:30) – Yeah, you hadn’t probably been gone 20, 30 minutes maybe. And the pain all of a sudden hit me so hard.
Kimberly Cotton (00:17:38) – So I pushed the nurses button and took them, you know, longer than I wanted to them for them to respond. But they finally responded and they said, can we help you? And I said, I need something for the pain. My I’m absolutely excruciating right now. And they said, what on the scale of what to what I’m like, I am above a ten. I mean, this is awful., and so it took them a little bit and then he could hear me moaning and groaning down the hallway, and I think he sprinted to the room after he could hear me., but it just hurts so bad., and it’s the strangest thing I don’t get it., but it wasn’t just one shoulder. It was across my back, right at my clavicle. And it just so hurt, so bad until the pain medication finally kicked in., initially, I had only wanted to stay one night in the hospital, but everybody was like, just see how you feel. See how you’re doing.
Kimberly Cotton (00:18:41) – Well, the next day, the doctor,, comes. Another one comes in and takes me over, and he looks at me and he’s like, yeah, you’re spending another night. He could tell the pain on my face. And it wasn’t constant, but it was just enough for him to say, yeah, we’re going to up the dosage of your pain medication. And you’re saying I’m like, okay, so but after they up the dosage, it was much better and much more manageable.
Chris Cotton (00:19:07) – So, so out of all the things that they didn’t tell us, this was kind of like the big moment or less and not right then. But,, so they wanted me to get her up and have her walking like at 8 p.m. that night. And so that happened. I think we took you for a walk before this happened. Yeah, but but what nobody told us was, was about 30 minutes before you get up to walk, call a nurse, have them give you the pain medication. That way, when you’re sore and hurting after the walk, you’ve already been medicated and you’re good to go.
Chris Cotton (00:19:44) – So I think I think we walked you that night. I think we walked you a couple times that next day. And then I think the nurse that came in the following night was the one that was like, hey, you guys should be taking pain medication before you walk. And nobody, nobody told us that up until then. And that’s,, that’s like some Ron White. That’s good information to know, right? Like. Yeah. Like,, that would have been handy. That would have been a little handy tidbit for people to tell us., so I, I think that and we’ll get into the get into your brother a little bit. So I think there’s like two huge pieces of information that nobody told us. And that was the first one. Yeah..
Kimberly Cotton (00:20:24) – And I’m not I’m not getting up and walking down the hallway. This is just getting up out of the bedroom, walking to the door and turning around, going to the chair and back. I didn’t even leave my room.
Kimberly Cotton (00:20:35) – I don’t think the first day. So. Yeah.
Chris Cotton (00:20:38) – So so I think, I mean, that’s it. And then,, your brother got done. He was in ICU for a night and they got him. He actually hit his. Last room was right across the hall and he only stayed one more night. Then you stayed, I think, right? Yeah. And then. Yeah. Yeah., because it’s way, it’s way easier. It’s crazy. It’s way easier on the recipient than it is the donor for this part of it. Now, now all the after part of it, the medication, everything, is tough on them. But so anything, anything else about the time in the hospital that you want to bring up or that we haven’t thought of?
Kimberly Cotton (00:21:18) – , no. I will also say that,, that first night they would come in and, you know, do what they need. There’s this new do what they need to do. Oh, that you take my ridiculous.
Chris Cotton (00:21:29) – Yeah.
Kimberly Cotton (00:21:29) – And I mentioned that. And I was like, I didn’t hardly sleep at all. And so the next night they actually put a note on my board outside of my room or somewhere that said do not Disturb between this time and this time, which was super helpful. So I highly recommend you tell them to do that unless they absolutely need to come in for some reason, that’s have them do that.
Chris Cotton (00:21:53) – Right? Yeah. And and it was. So I was sleeping in the room with her at the same, same time., I’m still a little bit salty about the pullout chair I got versus the couch. Jennifer or. Excuse me, your sister in law got,, on to. But anyway,, so they’re waking up, both of us, probably hourly. And so about the time you get comfortable and go to sleep, they’re waking you up to check your vitals every hour. So definitely tell them, hey, let’s skip the vitals., there’s some labs and stuff that they needed to do, but let’s let’s try to let us sleep and in and move on.
Chris Cotton (00:22:26) – So. Yeah., so we we get you home and,,, you want to talk about the recovery in the first, like week or two.
Kimberly Cotton (00:22:36) – So I,, had been in a Facebook group, the Living Donor Facebook group, and one of the things they recommended for immediately after surgery was like a compression belt or a compression thing around your waist. And so we had bought one., I will tell you, that thing I think helped me tremendously., I would wear it during the day and then take it off at night and let my body relax., I couldn’t sleep. It was uncomfortable to sleep the first couple nights., because I couldn’t sleep on my side for very long or my back, and it just was uncomfortable because of the whole surgery., after a couple days, though, and wearing the belt and getting up and walking as much as I felt like I could,, it helped a lot, and I felt a lot better., this the scars on my abdomen,, started healing very well.
Kimberly Cotton (00:23:33) – Didn’t have any issues at all with any of,, the places where they did the surgery, so that was really good., I did push it a little bit sometimes, and I did pay for it a couple times., I would just try to walk further than I thought I could, and I would get back in my back, would just ache and ache, and I didn’t take any medication and it’s like, absolutely had to. And there was one time I was on the couch and I was like, hey, mom, I need I need some medication. She’s like, you overdid it, didn’t you? Yep., and that’s happened one other time since we got back home here,, in Colorado. But I’ve been really trying to be careful, and I haven’t taken any medication for probably five weeks now., so it’s been a good recovery, I think,, for me,, and what helped it was I was in fairly good shape. I, you know, was working out a lot.
Kimberly Cotton (00:24:34) – And that was the one of the things he said, he’s like, because you’re in such good shape, you’re going to be able to bounce back faster than someone who wasn’t.
Chris Cotton (00:24:44) – Right. And I’ll say the other thing. So this this spring we knew we were going to have some things, but so we had two things that I had to schedule and then basically leave 4 or 5 months completely open. And the two things that I had to schedule one was have had a peer group meeting after your surgery, so I had to leave. That’s another reason why your mom and dad were there. And then,, our daughter Piper’s in a play and I have to go to St for that. So the two things that we couldn’t move on our schedule, I it got stuff,,, scheduled on top of it. But one of the things funny thing, I think from from your mom and dad being there is if your mom thought you’d left on a walk to too long, then your dad would come be bopping down the street looking for you to make sure that you’re okay.
Chris Cotton (00:25:40) – Yeah.
Kimberly Cotton (00:25:41) – And sometimes they actually went with me as well. They’re like, okay, don’t want to push it too hard, but I think they were there just in case. And,, I felt like at the time I’m like, man, I feel like I’m in jail. They’re just. But. That’s not what was at all. They were just making sure that I was okay,, that I wasn’t overdoing it. And they were just trying to take care of me., the best way they they wouldn’t even hardly let me do laundry. I mean, it was they wouldn’t let me cook, do anything. They wanted me to just relax and take care of myself and my body. It was hard for me to let them do that, being the age that I am now. But I’m glad that they were there, and I’m glad that they took great care of me.
Chris Cotton (00:26:27) – Right., so the other thing is that everybody asked me is, how’s your brother doing?
Kimberly Cotton (00:26:34) – So immediately after the surgery, he was doing okay.
Kimberly Cotton (00:26:39) – , he had tons of medications. A lot of them were just. For right after the surgery.. A lot of those he’s been able to come off of, which is really good. What we didn’t think about, which is really kind of obvious, and something else that they didn’t really tell us, is I’m not a large individual. I’m barely five six. And. I’m a I’m smaller body than my brother. And granted, he’s only like six foot six one., but he’s probably £5,060 heavier than I am. So my kidney was smaller than his kidneys had been. And so initially they thought the kidney from me was failing, that it was his body was rejecting it. Well, come to find out, the reason that it was doing that was because it was smaller than what he was used to. And so his body was trying to flush a lot more stuff through it than what I had been previously putting through it. And so they had to adjust his medications and, you know, really crack down and say, hey, you have to understand that the kidney we put in you is smaller than what your body can handle.
Kimberly Cotton (00:27:57) – And so you’re going to have to really be careful with this. I don’t know why I didn’t even think about that before the surgery, but it’s I totally understand it. So there for a couple of weeks, we were a little bit on edge with the whole testing, and they did a biopsy of the kidney and all kinds of stuff, and we were really worried. But I can tell you as of last week,, which was six weeks,, the doctor said he’s doing very well., again, he’s come off a lot of the medications they put on put him on originally after the surgery, and he’s still restricted on what he can do, who he can be around., but he is doing better, so it’s not he’s not there yet, and it’s going to be a long road for him. He’s going to be on medications his entire life.. But. Every day is a good day and he’s doing better.
Chris Cotton (00:28:54) – Well. And so that was one of my concerns. And that was, you know, out of all the people they assigned to you, they, you know, they assign mental health people and dieticians and advocate this, advocate that,, and my concern was, what happens if this doesn’t work,, for you from a mental standpoint.
Chris Cotton (00:29:13) – And I know,, again, they didn’t tell us that, you know, this could be the issue. Kind of the information we were getting was he may be rejecting it. And,, you know, I was keeping a close eye on you to make sure to see how you handle that and then to see if you because we had conversations like, I was like, hey, you know what happens? Like, how are you mentally and what happens if this doesn’t work? And I know you said you were okay, and I get that you were probably mostly okay, but I don’t know that I believed you that much., because I know how you are. But,, and if you just think about it, this is, of course, is one of the things that I learned. So if you’re if you’re a healthy person with two good kidneys, all of your blood in your body cycles through your kidneys, I think 5 to 6 times a day. So. So now you’ve got.
Chris Cotton (00:30:06) – Entire blood flow six times a day. That’s going through,, one kidney and a smaller kidney. So I think they went in, they did a biopsy. And then I want to say they, like, went in and injected steroids directly into the kidney to help it out. And again. So for now it seems to be doing great. Yeah., so, you know, brother’s doing good. Yeah., you know, so. So what’s next for you at this point?
Kimberly Cotton (00:30:37) – So,, I will go have a six month checkup, and,, we’ll be in Oklahoma anyway for some football games. So we had planned we’ll just go ahead and have the six month checkup in Tulsa., I could do it here in Durango, but,, they already have all my records and everything. They know what’s going on, so we’re just going to plan on doing that. And then after the sixth month, then it gets,, to the year point. So we’ll have another checkup at the year point.
Kimberly Cotton (00:31:05) – And then if everything is good, then I’ll have another checkup at two years., I do need to see my general practitioner,, regularly. And he’s been kept up to date with everything. So everything that’s happened,, in Tulsa, they have relayed to him. So he has all of my records and everything., so, yeah, I just have to periodically get, you know, tested and make sure things are functioning correctly, that I’m not having any issues.. So yeah, at this point. Other than, you know, making, you know, just worrying about. I don’t worry, worry, worry. I just consciously know in the back of my mind he’s always going to have issues. I just need to check in with him and make sure, you know, see how he’s doing., and I think that’s hard for him,, because he’s not a big talker., but you know what? I’m his big sister. He’s got my kidney, so I’m going to check in with him and make sure,, my being is doing okay, and it’s it’s a pretty cool club that I’m in, you know, the one being club.
Kimberly Cotton (00:32:12) – And I didn’t really look at it too much beforehand, but it’s that’s a pretty cool little club I’m in now. And I didn’t even realize they. There was months dedicated to organ donation or even a kidney donation. So that’s pretty cool.
Chris Cotton (00:32:26) – And and then like, I think you found out like the day before the donation or the day after that, they have like a special Olympics every year for people that have donated organs. So,, I haven’t got confirmation from her yet, but look for Kimberly to be the the gold medal javelin thrower in the in the donation Olympics here coming up next year or something like that.
Kimberly Cotton (00:32:49) – I don’t think so. But we’ll, I think I think it’s pretty cool that they have that,, you know, we’re, you know, it’s a select group of people. It’s not everybody in the United States or, you know, the world that, you know, donate a kidney or received a,, an organ from somebody. So,, I’m in a pretty elite little group now.
Kimberly Cotton (00:33:07) – I thought that was pretty cool.
Chris Cotton (00:33:08) – So is there is there anything else that we haven’t covered that that you would like to add?
Kimberly Cotton (00:33:17) – , not really, other than I think I said it at the end of the last podcast., go look into organ donation if you are interested in those things., and if you’d like to donate, I’m sure there’s lots of organizations out there, whether it be in your area or nationwide, that you can donate money to in order to fund research., regarding organ donation,, it’s pretty cool how far it just the kidney donation has come in the last probably ten years. I can only imagine what it was like to have to have a rib broken and go in from your back, and, you know, all the recovery after that. So mine was so easy compared to that. So if you are interested, please go check out Organ Donation or, donate to. Whatever cause you feel is right for your heart.
Chris Cotton (00:34:13) – And I will tell you like the reason why I did this podcast.
Chris Cotton (00:34:16) – And again, thank, thank you for,,, thank you for doing this. I know this is the last thing on Earth you wanted to do. You also said you would never do a podcast with me and so haha, I got you to do two now, although we don’t have any video of it, we’ve got all the audio of it. So. So thanks so much for doing that. And if there’s anybody out there I know you can listen to the podcast now and there’s other places for you, but if you need to talk to somebody and, and, you know, figure out if this is a process for you or something, feel free to to reach out to me. Or I can put you in touch with Kimberly. And,, we’re more than happy to help you and then go through that. There’s all kinds of things. You can be a direct donor if you have somebody that you love or anybody else that you that you want to donate to, you can there’s there’s like trading donors.
Chris Cotton (00:35:07) – So like, if Kimberly wasn’t a match to her brother, she could have given a kidney to somebody else and they could have donated.,, they could have had somebody, a loved one donate to to Ryan. There’s all kinds of switching and things to go out., and I would also tell you this is this is a side topic,, most states, if you’re not a registered organ donor on your driver’s license, and that’s something you want to do,, heaven forbid that ever happened, but at least maybe somebody else can can carry on,, after you can’t anymore. So,, that’s another option for you as well. So again, thank you, Kimberly, for, for for joining me. I know this was hard for you., I love you so very much. And,, thanks. Thanks for thank thanks for doing this for your brother.
Chris Cotton (00:36:31) – A big shout out to our listeners. Your dedication to growth fuels our passion. And let’s not forget our fantastic sponsor shop marketing pros who make sure the show is accessible to you. Where quality meets visibility. Shop Marketing Pros ensures your European or diesel repair shop stands out in a crowded market. Thanks for tuning in to the weekly Blitz. Remember, it’s time to rise, grind and keep your mindset positive. Until next time. This is Chris Cotton signing off.

Connect with Chris:

chris@autofixsos.com

Phone: 940.400.1008

www.autoshopcoaching.com

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