My son was born with Dent Disease, a rare x-linked kidney disease that was passed from my father through me to him. Because his kidney disease was starting to progress, I decided to be tested in hope that I could donate indirectly to him because we do not share the same blood type.
The process of testing took 220 days from the day I first applied to the day I was accepted as a kidney donor. I was approved on July 23, 2019. A donor was quickly found for my son, and he received a kidney in late October.
This image shows the 120 days and counting as I waited to be matched on the National Kidney Registry with someone who is in need of a kidney with my blood type, and as I prepare to donate in the not too distant future.
There are symbols that represent applying, each medical test (urine, blood, x-rays, and scans), phone calls or emails with the medical team about testing, travel across the US to the hospital for some of the tests, talking to kidney donors, recipients and my son, as well as his transplant, and just passing time while I wait to donate.
I decided not to use a calendar format, as I did for my Dates in a Life (Walking) Project paintings. The thin white lines under a square highlight Saturdays and Sundays to give a sense of time.
The black lines under a square highlight the time my kidney is listed and until a recipient is found.
The painting is created with monoprinted textures of a construction fence as the background, handstamped rubber erasers on fabric which are collaged on the background grid, as well as handpainting and stitching on stiffened fabric.
