“Events” and Tees Help Spread the Word

Summer 2019 – When will it arrive?

What’s that you say? It’s over! Wow that did go fast… But as quickly as it went, we did pack a lot of kidney shirt wearing into a brief period.

Rob’s plan was to get tee shirts, among other things, to wear and stage a couple of gatherings with friends in public places in addition to the regular day to day wearing of them to raise awareness of my renal needs.

…and so we did – planning and strategizing along with good friends Dorothy and Linda one early summer evening.

After a few weeks the goods came in – and, in addition to us and many friends wearing them individually throughout the summer, pushing the kidney message, we also wore them in groups and while in other areas away from home…Here’s a brief photo capsule of some kidney message spreading. And thanks again to all who have and will continue to wear these. It does help even though it doesn’t always feel like it when you are ironing the tee for the 97th time…

DC KIDNEYS WELCOME HERE:

Rob and I went to Washington DC in July for several days. We had loads of fun and plenty of good food. Ran into an older street vendor guy who was working outside a museum. He looked at my shirt and told us he was a recipient years ago of a kidney transplant. He spoke of his surgery and the time leading up to it with great encouragement and said he was doing great before continuing his work in the hot July DC weather as if he was having the time of his life! Always encouraging when people come forward with their own personal success stories.

KIDNEYS WITH YOUR SEAFOOD:

At the beginning of August, a group of friends we organized hit the Charlestown Seafood Festival – Kidney tee- shirts in numbers! It actually looked great to see a bunch of folks walking the festival all wearing the same shirt with my message on it. We were able to make some announcements on the PA system and with the Karaoke folks as well. Thankfully I did not have to sing! We did however pass out some cards and answer a bunch of questions from curious folks.

THE POLO CROWD MEET THE KIDNEY BRIGADE:

Step-sister Lisa could not use her season polo tickets one August Saturday evening so she offered them to our kidney group to further spread the message. Rob and I gathered the seafood festival veterans together again and hit the polo grounds in our tee shirts… (Thx Lisa). An afternoon / evening of tailgating and watching the polo matches in matching kidney tees ensued. We had a great time laughing and talking and got up on the big screen in our tees in a large group shot – extremely satisfying. Great way to get a message out there.

KiIDNEYS ON THE CAPE:

The end of August brought with it several days in one of my favorite places, Provincetown Massachusetts. One of the great joys of my life has been the time i have been able to spend there throughout the years. So Rob and I and a couple of friends headed on up route 6 as far as you can go, taking with us only some summer clothes and the troubles displayed on our kidney tee shirts. As we had all summer, we wore the shirts — to tea dance, up and down Commercial Street and to the top of the Pilgrim monument. And, as always people asked and commented on them and were, in turn, given the info that hopefully will lead me to a living donor someday soon. The time there was fun, relaxing and soul sustaining as always.

And so, now it is September. What, if anything, did we accomplish this brief summer? Who’s to say anything, beyond spreading the word? But that, in itself, was the mission, wasn’t it? Did the lady who saw my bumper sticker at the Seasons store and proceeded to knock on the car window to say she sees my car in the neighborhood every day and is working on helping me – is she continuing to search for me? Did Dennis, the person who saw my bumper sticker on a car in Worcester, Ma and called me to request info – did he pursue to satisfaction his desire to help? Did any of the folks we talked to end up accessing the website to look into donation? Again, who’s to say? But that is part of the lesson here of kidney disease. Transplant is the fix, but how much patience do you need to keep moving forward toward that transplant? How much optimism do you have to have on the days when you don’t feel like getting out of bed, not because of any kidney disease issues, but because you are human and we all have those days?

Well, for me just the fact that I have these opportunities to spread the word in so many fun and interesting ways, and that so many have been willing to help me spread the word or wear a tee shirt or put a button on is, in and of itself, soul sustaining and makes me want to iron that tee shirt another 9,000 times if necessary to keep spreading the word — the word that the right person will hear at some point – maybe even tomorrow – or today!