Kidney Transplant for Daniel Westling: May 2009


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ruthieviews

I wish Daniel and his father the best of health and a speedy recovery.
My ex-husband had a congenital kidney defect and had the non-working kidney removed when he was 42. He is now 79 and is still enjoying excellent health with just the one kidney.

It is true that some U.S. states allow drivers to indicate whether or not they wish to be organ donors at death. If they have organ donor checked on the back of their driver's license or if relatives so indicate, the person is kept on machines until all organs can be harvested. They can only use organs that were removed from a still living (via machines) donor. Getting a living donor to donate a kidney or part of their liver is difficult. Very few living people indicate they want to donate, except for close family or friends. It is usually a crisis when this happens and the family all get tested for a match to save their friend or relative. If no match is found, the person goes on a waiting list for a donated organ.

Signing the donor card on the back of your license will ensure that, at your death, you may be responsible for returning a dozen people to good health. Donating your organs at death may help two people to see. You may allow a father or mother to continue living with a new heart. A young athlete may be given a second chance with a new liver and two people may find new hope with your two kidneys. Donated skin and tissue can help a half dozen burn victims recover more quickly. Your body and all of it's systems and parts can save a room full of people. If your state does not provide this opportunity, file a "donor card" in your wallet behind your driver's license. Bringing Daniel's medical problem to light will, I hope, give people the incentive to become organ donors.
 
I would not be surprised if Daniel really asked Victoria to proceed with the trip. When I had to undergo a serious operation, I didn't want anyone from my family to be around. Just wanted to bear it stoically and with as little fuss as possible. People are different, and we will never know.
I hope Daniel makes a full recovery. And I think that during our lifetime it will become possible to treat many serious illnesses with the help of stem cells. One of our hospitals has started treating heart failures with stem cells, as they grow and turn into healthy heart tissue.
 
Lets hope the royal court's claim the this "problem" is not hereditary because if they have children and one of them ends up with a hereditary kidney disease the royal court is going to look real stupid for covering up a serious health problem. If anything being open about such things makes them relevant to the people.
 
California said:
Lets hope the royal court's claim the this "problem" is not hereditary because if they have children and one of them ends up with a hereditary kidney disease the royal court is going to look real stupid for covering up a serious health problem. If anything being open about such things makes them relevant to the people.
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If they would know, it is hereditary (autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant) they could get genetical tests and/or preimplantation diagnostics done and only healthy fertilised eggs would get implanted.

But of course there is also a zone, that is difficult to cover. The one with certain diseases being more frequent in some families without an obvious genetic pattern (autosomal recessive or dominant is easy to test. To find multiple genes, which cause e.g. problems with vessles, isn´t)

If Daniel was the first one within his extended family, who had kidney problems and if autosomal recessive at him (and Victoria) can be excluded, they would most likely not have a higher chance of getting a child with kidney diseases than other parents.
 
As far as I know, alcohol is not prohibited after a kidney transplant, unless of course, you are receiving a transplant because you drank your old one into oblivion..
 
Empress said:
As far as I know, alcohol is not prohibited after a kidney transplant, unless of course, you are receiving a transplant because you drank your old one into oblivion..
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AFAIK alcoholics have a hard time to get organs, if they aren´t cured from alcoholism (many might experience a relapse though...isn´t that the Larry Hagman story?)

Since some Immunosuppressants (Ciclosporin A) are toxic for the liver and interfere with many other drugs, which gets metabolised in the liver...keeping the liver healthy, is quite essential for patients.

But I am doubting Daniel would in the future only drink orange juice at galas. ;)
 
Video of wifey-to-be on Greenland talking about Daniel.
Expressen.tv - Nyhetskanalen - se TV på expressen.se
Victoria: De mår mycket bättre - Nyheter - Expressen.se
She tried to call him on Friday several times and had luck 2 times (bad connection)
His parameters have improved a lot already :clap: He is of good cheer and he is feeling a lot better than in a long long time. Now a couple of worrisome days would follow, when one would see, how the body would accept the new kidney.
She says, that it was of course frustrating (to go to Greenland, I guess) but at the same time she couldn´t have done anything at home. She probably would have just sauntered to and fro and would have felt worried.

Sidenote: I am surprised to see the heirs signing a book. Isn´t that something scandi Royals are refusing usually...
 
I can only imagine how stressful this hole issue must have been for Daniel even without the media involved from the beginning, no wonder they wonted too keep it a secret. I really hope he recovers fast.
At least it bring something good, the last couple of days the registerd doners in Sweden have increased.
 
:previous: Wow! That is great. I hope it works better than it did here in NZ (and not a few other country's) where if a person dies and their Driver's License had "Organ Donor" on it, it basically meant nothing if the family couldn't face making that decision. :ermm:

It means that you can Will anything the way you want except your body . . . on death apparently, the body is just another part of your "estate" and permission must be sought from the Next-of-Kin or Trustee. So unless you have tattooed it on the inside of your loved one's eyelids bureaucracy will end up negating your expresss decision. :bang:
 
Isn´t that something scandi Royals are refusing usually...
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They normally sign visitors books (the Danish ones do anyway, there are pics of F&M from Australia 2005 and others since)
 
MARG said:
:previous: Wow! That is great. I hope it works better than it did here in NZ (and not a few other country's) where if a person dies and their Driver's License had "Organ Donor" on it, it basically meant nothing if the family couldn't face making that decision. :ermm:

It means that you can Will anything the way you want except your body . . . on death apparently, the body is just another part of your "estate" and permission must be sought from the Next-of-Kin or Trustee. So unless you have tattooed it on the inside of your loved one's eyelids bureaucracy will end up negating your expresss decision. :bang:
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In Sweden the will of the relatives also counts. As it seems more than 80% of the Swedes are according to a survey positive towards donation (post mortem), but since the relatives decide in the end, this means that Sweden has a low rate of donations.
Ppl don´t talk about this topic during life and in the situation, the relatives are so shocked and overwhelmed, that they say no.
One can also register for donation and then the doctors would take a look at the registry.

So Daniel´s case is having an impact and hopefully also will in the future.
 
LadyFinn said:
Victoria övervägde hoppa av resan - men Daniel vägrade - Expressen.se
Victoria was considering to fly from Greenland to the hospital, but Daniel said no, Victoria should continue her trip. Victoria had had many talks with crown princes Haakon and Frederik about skipping the trip.
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A piece defending Victoria. I guess Johan T. Lindwall wanna make up for the revelation, which was definitely not appeaciated by the Royal house :rolleyes:
Actually he can´t really know, if she really wanted to go home...
 
I really hope there will be some news or some kind of a press release with facts wich clear up a few things regarding this issue, it would be for the best for both the couple and the Monarchy in Sweden. People may have a lot of questions about this, and to give Mr Westling and his father, and the couple the peace and quiet they need in recovery time, it would be wise to have a press release about it to tell some facts to calm people. A kidney transplant is not "small stuff", it is serious.
If they don't face it in the coming weeks and say something about it, this issue will be huge because of speculations. Mr Westling does not need that when in recovery, neither do CP Victoria and all people close to them.

Keeping a health isue as serious as this a secret, will do no good in the long run. They need to be open about it, as open as possible without being too private. I wish they could see to Norway and how it was handled when King Harald had health issues and had a rough time some years back. Of course a lot were kept secret regarding details about the Kings health, but doctors actually attended a press conference, telling about King Harald with his permission. And it really calmed down things. We are in 2009, and being a royal is unfortunately like living under a magnifying glass. All kind of information get to people very quick. To take care of CP V and Westling, tell the truth now (or as soon as possible) and let them have a recovery time in peace and quiet.

But then again Harald is a King, Mr Westling will marry the future Queen. Different roles, but still. Mr Westling is hopefully the father to the heir of the Swedish throne in the future.
(I write "hopefully", because no couple is guaranteed to have children, royal or not. But I hope this couple will have children, and I'm not saying "hopefully" because of Mr Westlings health. It is a "hopefully" in general speaking.)

I wish Mr Westling and his father a good recovery, and I hope for the best for them all. Blessings to them all. :flowers:
 
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I agree with Laurentienne, I think they simply need to issue an official statement explaining Victoria's absence and letting everyone see a healthy-looking, smiling Daniel Westling! :)
 
Does anyone know whether Daniel shall need another Kidney transplant in the future and which ailments(diseases) would have required him to need a kidney transplant?
 
Emeralds and Opals said:
Does anyone know whether Daniel shall need another Kidney transplant in the future and which ailments(diseases) would have required him to need a kidney transplant?
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A donated kidney runs for about 10 years until it is also dysfunctional (attacks by the immune system and the medication is partly also nephrotoxic)
But there are also cases with patients having their donated kidneys for 30 years and more.
Patients with a high match and who got a kidney from a living patient have better chances to keep it.
I could imagine his sister is meant as second donator and hopefully...a few things have improved until then.
The best would be of course, if one could grow kidneys out of stem cells, but that´s far in the future still.

Most kidneys, which are affected by a congenital disease and fail in adulthood are cystic kidneys (the kidney grows "bubbles" over the years and is losing its function)
That is most often a hereditary disease (btw the most common), but there are also sponataneous forms.
I could imagine the court is reluctant to name the disease, as ppl with medical knowledge/experiences would think "uh, isn´t that hereditary?!"

It could also be his kidneys were way too small (hypoplasia) or the basement membrance is too thin or he suffers from FSGS (sclerosis of the glomeruli)...but most often congenital=cystic.
Other congenital forms either result in early death (at least in 1973) or go without renal failure.
 
Thank you Lena for once again sharing your medical knowledge!
I agree with everything said in Laurentienne's post.
The very short statement released by the Palace at the night of Mr. Westling's surgery was obviously worded in a rush, forced as it was by the inquiry of 'Expressen', the newspaper that was about to break the story.
Now, common sense and a realistic view of the media situation should prevail at the Palace. Upon Victoria's return from the rather ill-advised trip to Greenland, everyone involved, King and Queen, the engaged couple and maybe the Westlings as well, should sit down together and participate in finding the right solution for how to proceed.
The current personnel at the Bernadotte press and information department have been showing incompetence in matters far less important than this one for the longest time, so a decision about whether to continue with Nina Eldh as chief might be crucial too. Someone else with better communication skills and a tad of spin-doctoring talent might be needed to present the issue, which is a long-term task.
I agree that transparency would be the only way to go - in the long run, it will bring relief to everyone concerned and avoid the worst of gossip stories based upon lack of facts in this situation.
 
Daniel have to stay away from big crowds of people, because after the kidney transplantation his resistance to various infections is low about 3-6 months.
 
The very short statement released by the Palace at the night of Mr. Westling's surgery was obviously worded in a rush, forced as it was by the inquiry of 'Expressen', the newspaper that was about to break the story.
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Yes...and since we two beauties know the court and its information "service", it is actually quite difficult to judge the information. :rolleyes:
Heaven knows, what they understand under "congenital" and "hereditary" (e.g. me wouldn´t count "Glomerulonephritis" as congenital...but who knows)
And since the whole matter gets so secretly handled, all kind of rumours and theories spin.

A honest medical bulletin by Karolinska hospital would help a lot...and while I am not counting on Daniel being present at Victoria´s birthday celebrations, it would be smart to get in summer an interview and photoshooting with e.g. TT (swedish press agency) done...

BTW in connection to Daniel´s disease, I´ve read about soccer player Ivan Klasnic and Basketball player Alonzo Mourning, who both went on with their professional career after their kidney transplantations.
Just mentioning that to "show", that transplantation doesn´t mean to live in a bubble (kind of like poor David Vetter) and with all side effects in package leaflets of immunosuppressants mentioned...
 
There definately needs to be transparency in this case but I doubt that the Swedish Royal Court gets that...they will keep their silence.

Also, I am having trouble buying the SRC's assertion that this disease is not heriditary. They need proof to back this claim up. I don't understand why it would matter if this diesease is heriditary? If Mr. Westling, being born in 1973, did not need a transplant until 35 years later- a future sovreign born in 2011 or later will have much better access to health care.
 
Thank you, Lena for the expert information regarding Kidney transplants and various Kidney diseases. I hope that eventually before the wedding next year there shall be a news conference or official statement about the medical reason or reasons for Daniel's Kidney transplant(i.e. which condition or condition he has).

:flowers:
 
Daniel Westling tells from the hospital, that he is doing very well. He also thanked the readers of Aftonbladet for all the greetings he has got to the hospital. Nina Eldh took the greetings to Daniel on Friday.
Aftonbladet - Daniel: Jag mår otroligt bra
 
I agree that the Royal press team could have handled the situation better. However, I think that Daniel's privacy was more important. When you are going through such a traumatic experience you don't want a whole nation receiving detailed information while it is happening. That could put both patients under undue stress. I think revealing the operation after the fact was best.

I sometimes wonder when people say "they should expect intrusion because they are living under a magnifying glass" are they are just trying to mask their voyeurism. I think everyone has the right to medical privacy. How much do we "have" to know?
 
They were a bit in a "no win" situation.
And to me it also seems wise not to announce the surgery in advance, but the secrecy they were heading for, is a) completely unrealistic (someone from Karolinska twittered and that was to expect) and it b) it provokes all kind of rumours.
Ppl get very fast tired, if you present "hard facts"...if you stay secretful, the rumour mill will run endlessly...
I could imagine, if king Harald wouldn´t have been as open, as he was...we would still assume, his cancer is on the way back and never went away...or that his heart is shortly before failure. But so...it isn´t an issue any longer and none is picturing Haakon as king in the nearer future.

Video of Victoria today... http://www.expressen.tv/nyheter/Inrikes/1.1590852/klart-att-jag-vill-besoka-daniel (of course I wanna visit Daniel)
 
Daniel Westlings operation var akut - Nyheter - Expressen.se
According to Expressen´s sources, the kidney transplantation operation was acute, they had to make it earlier than scheduled, because Daniel´s condition had worsened quickly.
Hovets presschef: "Daniel mår bra" - Nyhetskanalen.se
The informationschef of the court, Nina Eldh, says that Daniel is doing well now. She doesn´t know when Daniel will be released from the hospital, normally the patients stay at the hospital two or three weeks.
 
gardenia8 said:
I agree that the Royal press team could have handled the situation better. However, I think that Daniel's privacy was more important. When you are going through such a traumatic experience you don't want a whole nation receiving detailed information while it is happening. That could put both patients under undue stress. I think revealing the operation after the fact was best.

I sometimes wonder when people say "they should expect intrusion because they are living under a magnifying glass" are they are just trying to mask their voyeurism. I think everyone has the right to medical privacy. How much do we "have" to know?
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It has nothing to do with voyeurism gardenia81. Royal people and celebrities live under magnifying glass wether they like it or not, and many of them wish it was different. But when you are Royal like CP Victoria and she is to marry Mr Westling who will be a prince, people are curious about them, and become concerned when something serious as kidney disease and organ transplant is a fact. It is not voyeurism to want to know more about it. And since living in 2009, and not in the 1920's, when in example Swedish princess Astrid could date Leopold of Belgium for quite some time before anyone even knew who he was when he was in Sweden, this is not the case in 2009. News spread fast in 2009, but I totally respect Mr. Westling and his fathers privacy, and other patients right to have a quiet hospital stay.

So I hope there will be a press release with info soon. The Swedish people has a right to know more, but that doesn't mean that it is necessary to dig to the bone, and reveal very private details about Mr Westling. Diagnosis and prognosis would be ok. Other people in royal families are open about health problems, so why not with Mr Westling? There is a fine line between private and personal. It is not necessary to reveal each and every detail around Westlings transplant, just essential facts.

They handled it well when King Harald was sick. They (doctors) never needed to say as much as they said, but they even had a press conference where docs with the Kings blessings answered questions unless they were tasteless. (Some questions were, I watched it.) But I think it was wise to do it that way, to release info about the situation. There were not much stuff in media about the King during his recovery time. But it would have been big head lines it everything was kept more of a secret.

Then again, the two men has different roles. Hopefully Mr Westling will be out of hospital during first half of June. Maybe they are just waiting to see how it all goes before releasing info. It takes some time for a body to adjust to a new organ. I know this issue from people in close family too. It isn't small stuff. Taking necessary time to gain enough info to give short and accurate info is wise, but to keep this very secret, might lead to people chasing after the couple and lots of stories in media that the couple or the Swedish monarchy doesn't need at all.

I wish all the best for all involved. :flowers:

Added: Thank you to all who post links in this thread. :)

(And by the way gardenia81, voyeurism is actually looking at other people undressing, having sex or urinating or defecating, and that give some kind of sexual pleasure. (Voir - French word for "to look")
So being concerned and curious and anxious about Mr Westling, is something most people feel out of empathy with the couple, and not because of some sexual needs.)
 
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Victoria is back in Stockholm and it´s said she visited Daniel this morning.

Interview from yesterday

Asked, what she had said in her first call to Daniel
-Good to hear your voice...so good to hear your voice

Now she was also reluctantly admitting, that the long engagement time is connected to the disease:
-That´s clear, she says and is silent for a moment.
That had been very serious and needs time.
Besides there are many other things, which play a role. Such a big wedding takes a lot of time to prepare, Daniel should arrange that with his business and that also takes time.
Daniel suffered from a serious disease and is now receiving the best medical help, one can imagine

CP Frederik:
-We had many and long talks. That was probably good for Victoria.
We are very touched about that, what had happened to Daniel

Victoria:
-They have supported me. That had felt good.
Besides that I could talk to Daniel made things easier in an enormous way. So I´ve felt more secure in the situation. That gave me extra strength

About the (nearer) future:
-I´ll be with Daniel. I´ve duties, but I´ll of course try to be with Daniel as much as possible.

About how she would support him
-We will see. There are many ways.

About her feelings right now
-Many [feelings]. That was a big surgery, but as it seems now everything had worked out well.
Now we will take day after day.

A very crown princessy final paragraph:
-I´ve understood there had been an enormous response on the transplantation.
Ppl wanna become donators
It´s fantastic, that ppl get involved. It warms my heart, that so many had thought of Daniel. That means much to me.

---

Daniel told Expressen (via the court´s spokesperson):
-I feel better than before the surgery.
That went unexpectedly good, but it will take at least half a year until I am completely back on track again.

Daniel also wanted to get straight, that his surgery wasn´t acute (as claimed by Expressen) but planned...

"Skönt att höra din röst" - Nyheter - Expressen.se
Daniels hälsning till läsarna: - Nyheter - Expressen.se
 
All the best for Daniel. I do wish that the Swedish court would have at least tried to talk about it, but what they did makes sense, in a twisted sort of way.
 
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