“Events” and Tees Help Spread the Word

September 15, 2019 2 Comments

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 …

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How You Can Help Me

December 13, 2018 Leave a comment

Want to help me? It’s all about information: for you and potential donors. One of the best places to start is the transplant area of Massachusetts General Hospital’s excellent website. There you will find a lot of education. I have several articles and links published in the submenu under this menu category. These will give you a quick, easy-to-read background on the subject so you can understand the ins and outs of kidney transplant and how it is very safe for the donor and a pretty awesome thing to do for someone if life! A couple of other sites that are helpful are: The National Kidney Foundation  and The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)  So, happy reading and learning! Here are some education links from the submenu:

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Pleased To Meet You

December 1, 2018 2 Comments

Just a little about me before you dive into the articles I have written regarding my journey with Polycystic Kidney Disease.  I’m really a pretty ordinary guy for those who do not know me.  I’m currently 56 years old and married to a man I have loved since I met him in 1980. Of course I did not know I loved him back then – or that I was gay for that matter. But that is a story for another venue. Suffice to say we have been together for a long time and I am very lucky to have him in my life. During the course of my life so far, I, like most, have seen my ups and downs. I lost my mom at an early age (I was 17 years old), and my dad died when I was …

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The Golden Child Speaks

November 30, 2018 Leave a comment

As I mentioned on this site earlier, one of my doctors has called me “the Golden Child” for kidney donation. Not your everyday complement, but I will definitely take that designation and wear it proudly.

Basically, what the doc was saying is that my transplant should go extremely well and really have few if any complications or roadblocks (fingers crossed). There are several reasons for this:

1) People with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) as a reason for transplant generally do well because of the nature of their illness. PKD is a genetic illness confined to the kidneys. Otherwise the person is healthy. Once a new kidney is transplanted into a person with PKD (the new kidney will not contract PKD) they are “cured” of the disease and, since there is not other associated disease in their body that  the new …

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And By the Way, You have PKD

November 21, 2018 Leave a comment

So when people are diagnosed with pretty much anything, the first reaction of most is probably fear. That scale of that fear is generally commensurate with the seriousness of the diagnosis.

When I was diagnosed with PolyCystic Kidney Disease (PKD) it was basically an afterthought. You see, I was 25 years old and visiting my urologist because my right testicle had grown to the size of a medium tropical fruit in a really short time. And while on one hand that was impressive to a 25 year old, it was also probably not great news biologically.

Turns out, after testing, that my urologist told me and my dad that I had testicular cancer and needed to take care of that asap. “And, by the way, you also have Polycystic Kidney disease,” he mentioned.

Those unfortunate enough to have heard a …

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What Cancer Taught Me

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It may be a cliche by now, but it is true that you do learn about life from having cancer.

Trust me; still better to avoid the crap out of it ultimately, but I suppose it is a consolation that at least you can take something positive away if you do happen to meet up with it.

Testicular cancer found me young – 25 years old. Let’s face it – that’s an age where testicles rank pretty high on the body parts list. Hell, for most guys at that age they’re pretty much in charge, so any threat to one of them is a real kick in the balls, shall we say.

And, with the full acknowledgement that everyone is unique and processes life differently, I would say that one of cancer’s largest lessons is that each day is a …

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Like Father, Like Canine Son

November 19, 2018 Leave a comment

 

Miss my old man-baby George!

Most people who know me know the story of George. He was a beagle, a shelter rescue that Rob and I adopted when he was 10 and in a bit of rough shape.

With a little TLC, George experienced quite a revival, you might say. He put on weight and became strong once again, enjoying a couple of lengthy walks a day. Our mailman eventually told us how good George looked and that he wasn’t sure George would last the week when we first brought him home. Some of the neighbors even took to calling him “Second Chance George.”

Unfortunately, after approximately four years as our old man-baby, George developed a brain tumor which eventually took him. When I was at the vet with George during his diagnosis phase, the doctor was giving us …

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The Kidney Swap – A Solution for Non-Compatible Donors

November 17, 2018 Leave a comment

One of the coolest things in life must be when that person steps forward and is interested in giving you a kidney – interested in improving and ultimately saving your very life.

And one of the largest disappointments must be when you find out this person’s kidney is not a match for you. I’m not sure I can imagine the let down.

 

But the idea of the Kidney Paired Donation Program  – or Kidney Swap – has become a time and even life saver for folks who have a willing donor who does not match them. As the name suggests, you simply can register you and your donor with UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing). A transaction is created in which your donor’s non-matched kidney is transplanted into someone who they do match but also has an incompatible …

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The Big Ask – About Living Donation

November 11, 2018 Leave a comment

So what is living donation? Basically kidneys that get donated to folks like me come from one of two places; a person who has just passed away with a healthy kidney or a still-living person who has very generously decided to part with one of their own kidneys to help someone else out.

Some wonder, if you can get a deceased donor kidney, why be in search of one from a living donor? – good question…

According to the National Kidney Foundation, kidney transplants performed from living donors may have several advantages compared to transplants performed from deceased donors:

  1. Some living donor transplants are done between family members who are genetically similar. A better genetic match lessens the risk of rejection.
  2. A kidney from a living donor usually functions immediately, because the kidney is out of the body for
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