Pearl’s Blog
Pearl’s Blog
Bad press
Oh dear,
Someone’s written a stinker of a review about my book “The Wee, The Wound And The Worries” - man, I think it’s actually funny it’s so bad. Funnily enough apparently it was written just after the book was published but I haven’t seen it until now - maybe Lulu was sparing my feelings.
I’m really glad I didn’t read this at the time as it would probably have upset me. Anyhoo this is the review and I really just wanted to respond to a couple of things in it because I do think it’s a bit unfair and inaccurate!
To this reviewer’s comment that this is out of date with modern surgery - she’s probably right. I donated the kidney around 9 years before the book was published, but you see the thing is that no other donor had written a book and so when I started putting the info out that I got so much response I decided to publish - because yes a more up to date book would be great but all I have are my experiences, even if they are 9 years old. (Maybe reviews like this are why no one has published one!)
Apparently I said you have to be "intelligent" - sorry I don’t remember in which context this was but I hope I didn’t give the impression there was an IQ test involved.
When I talked about taking someone else’s laxatives it was an example of one of the many mistakes I made - a warning on what not to do rather than a recommendation.
My comment " Drink huge quantities of hot fluids (tea’s the best) and then try not to pee for as long as possible." Okay, I am talking about waiting until you have a full bladder rather than peeing every few minutes. And again as I stress in the book everyone is different - I just find this helps me personally with cystitis. (Also immediately after the surgery you’ll almost certainly have a catheter so it’s not an issue.)
In response to this comment:
“She also goes on to say about eligibility to donate "The general age guidelines are 18-60 for donors, with donation for people up to the age of 55 being seen as "routine".". Absolute rubbish. There is NO maximum age, it all depends on your HEALTH. In fact in 2008 someone aged 71 years of age donated a kidney!”
I did not say that you can’t give someone a kidney over the age of 60, but these were the official general age guidelines at the time of publication in the UK.
To the insinuation that this is a fiction story because I put a disclaimer on it perhaps the reviewer ought to look at the disclaimers on pretty much every film, book or published work. Oh and you are very welcome to come check out my big old scar any time you want!
And as to the comment: “She is just trying to get money from it all these years later especially as there are a few affiliate links on the website for her to earn extra money.” Yes, I am. Unfortunately I haven’t made much, but quite frankly I wouldn’t feel guilty if I made a fortune from this book or my website. I’d also like to point out that this reviewer read the book as a free download so unfortunately I didn’t make any money from her :(
It would be entirely possible for thousands of people in the UK to write a personal experience book of kidney donation and I’d love that to happen, especially if it was up to date, but as far as I know I am the only person who’s actually done it - so I am extremely proud of the achievement. Most importantly I am proud of the guts it took to put this out there when there are so many people prepared to criticise those that do anything.
But unfortunately the saddest part of reading this review is knowing, from some of the emails I’ve received from recent donors, that the medical system has not changed as much as any of us would like. It’s still critical as a donor to ensure you have a strong support team and advocates for dealing with the medical establishment and asking questions, so I really hope anyone considering donation will take my advice and set these up before the operation.
Oh, if you want to read some nicer reviews check this out (glad I read these first!)
Love Pearl x
Tuesday, 12 June 2012