December 5, 2017
Tuesday
I was just paging down through my Facebook posts and found the following one from Bill Peckham. This guy has been posting on Blogger since before I started many years ago. For a number of years I followed his posts closely since he and I were both experiencing dialysis and writing about our experiences. Bill's digest of information on all the facets of dialysis and resources for patients was always the best of the best, and it appears it still is.
October 8, 2017
Sunday
This morning I received an email from one of my colleagues (David Ray) asking if I had seen the new issue of Wired; specifically Megan Molteni's article on the future of implanting artificial kidneys. Her article report the results of ongoing research, testing, and design work from the last 20 years and some of the funding history over those years.
Now there is exciting news on the possibility of actually implanting an artificial kidney and people "signing up" for being considered when clinical trials begin in 2018 or thereabouts.
Exciting Futures for folks on Dialysis!
May 1, 2017
Monday
Since my last yearly follow up, seems my meds have been going haywire: especially the Myfortic dosage. For years it was a stable dose.
Then it was too low so the doc went to three in the morning and three at night. Too high. So then I was at 2 in the morning and 1 at night. Too low. Today Mary from the clinic called and starting today I go to none tonight and tomorrow and then I start at 2 & 1 on even days and 1 & 1 on odd days
I asked her if Dr. Lewis knew why I can go for years with no real med changes and then it's all over the place. She says he didn't say anything, and she tried to assure me by saying, "It's just changes with time".
She doesn't know how I dislike changes! Next lab work a week from today at 7:30 am at the same place as USUAL. Ahhhh.
So it goes.
April 29, 2017
Saturday
I just posted a comment on the PKD Facebook page for someone who wished they had been able to read about someone's experiences pre and post transplant. I commented that they could Google "Jack's Kidney Adventure". Upon checking, I realized it has been ages since I put up anything about how to find the transplant point for a reader to use as a point of entry.
On the blog post lists one way to find the day of my kidney call, find 2009, March, Post # 337. Or, you can just use the following link:
http://jakidney.blogspot.com/2009/03/336-in-which-jack-gets-kidney-call.html
March 9, 2017
Thursday
So Liz, Shayna, Joan, and I are out to eat at Dogwood Cafe tonight and suddenly Liz remembers that today is the 8th Anniversary of my kidney transplant. 8 years! We all forgot. The mark of integration of past crisis (or trauma) is integrating the event into the fabric of one's life in a way that it becomes one of the may threads that make up the tapestry of a life.
This is a good thing. Mordechai the Miracle Kidney is now part of me.
The annual checkup with Dr. Lewis on February 28th went well for the most part: he called my kidney "a monster kidney" and he still wants me to follow up on a heart checkup that he recommended a year ago. He wants an ultrasound on my abdomen. And at the end of the meeting he asks me if everything is alright.
I, somewhat kiddingly say, "Yeah doc all is well. But you know, whenever I press here (poking myself on the rim of my belly button) it hurts". He has me back down on the able, tells me to arch my back, pokes my belly button and proclaims, "You have a belly button hernia". "WHAT?" Liz and I say in unison.
"Yeah" he replies. A belly button hernia. You need surgery. Go see Dr. Sankar; he'll do it."
The Rest of the Story: Dr. Sankar is 8 years older than when he assisted on my transplant; still a friendly guy; and he gives me more info on the options. We decide I will wait til after I get my heart checkup and take care of my HHT gum work.