Life is the hospital is all about routine – one that starts at 5:00AM. Each morning the nurse would wake me to get my vital signs, weight and draw blood. The next activity was a visit by the transplant residents. They would ask how I was doing, check my incision,…
We woke up at 4:00AM the morning of the transplant because we needed to be at UC Davis Medical Center by 5:30 for our scheduled 7:30 procedure. Phillip and I both showered, dressed in sweats and made sure we had everything packed for our hospital stay: slippers – check, robe…
Chronic Resilience is born, and I am hitting the road…the west coast road. We’ve got fabulous events planned in San Diego, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle and Spokane. If you live near one of these cities, I would love to meet you. I’ll be talking about how Chronic Resilience came to be,…
I can’t believe we are just days away from the official release of Chronic Resilience. It is quite a wonderful whirlwind. On Tuesday, I was doing an interview over the phone and I was asked a very important question, “What do you want readers to get from Chronic Resilience?” It…
Years ago, I got the low-sodium spiel from my doctor. Blood pressure, as it relates to your kidney is circular. Your kidney regulates the amount of sodium, and hence water, in your system; this regulates your blood pressure. As your kidney function declines, your blood pressure increases. From the other…
Phillip and I were back for a checkup this week. I know better than this. I know that I should stay in the moment, say my affirmations and expect the best. But that’s the ideal and sometimes the ideal just isn’t where I am at on a particular day. I…
I share in the book that I am on the kidney transplant list as well as some background as to how I landed myself there, but I wanted to lay out the specifics of exactly what that means in my case. I was referred to my local transplant center in…
Two years ago, I was having issues with phosphorous. Phosphorous is a mineral that your kidney maintains balance of within your body by filtering excess out of your blood. My lab work indicated that my phosphorous was high. The solution, for me, was relatively simple. My doctor recommended I take…
I am sitting in my doctor’s office. It is 3:30, time for miracles. In 15 minutes the doctor will tell me that I’m in “late stage 4” kidney disease, a.k.a. getting close to kidney failure. He will urge me to start contemplating dialysis “just in case your transplant plans fall…