BlogHer - National Kidney Month - Comments

Go ahead and ask...

nelle2nelle — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:44:04 -0600

She would tell you it takes her too long to type... her passion is genealogy, wrote my dad's family history and had a published version of like 60 copies printed up, hard bound. Now she is on to her family, delving into it about daily. It is through this I found out about Suzannah North Martin and my wicked witch genes. ;-)

Nelle

About your mom

Denise — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:34:33 -0600

I should call her and convince her that she needs to blog. I could do it ya know...

OK a bike, a sled and menengitis? She needs a blog.

~Denise

rofl, she does well as it is

nelle2nelle — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:18:01 -0600

rofl, she does well as it is with these infernal machines.

I was outside when R took her ride, and was rather aghast, but it was an accident. The weird thing was that thing sent her down the stairs, but also saved her on landing.

As I recall, mom was standing unawares when some guy barreled into her. She was forever in such events, was hit by a sled one other time. And it invariably led to my gram keeping her away from things, she was overly protective because of my mom's menengitis as a young child (they did not expect her to live, and she had to learn to walk all over again.)

Crossing The Great Divide

Walkers

Denise — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 18:49:08 -0600

Walkers are bad in houses with stairs.

Now tell me, how did your mother get run over by a bicyclist??? She needs a blog.

~Denise

In my mom's case, though

nelle2nelle — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 17:25:25 -0600

In my mom's case, though time makes it uncertain, the thinking was it was when she was run over by a bicyclist... apparently it was that area that was hit hard. The kidney was misshapen and by removal had signs of atrophy. Getting rid of it seriously improved her overall health.

I didn't make notes on such things, but the only trauma I can recall other than from K's diabetes is R taking a ride down cellar stairs on one of those infernal walking thingies.

Crossing The Great Divide

I wondered...

Denise — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 11:09:33 -0600

I knew your mom had kidney problems but I was not sure if she'd had a kidney removed or a transplant. Interesting - a misshapen kidney from a childhood illness causing the problem.

A friend, long ago, told me to note every childhood injury my kids had because those could be important later in life. I ummm ignored that advice and probably shouldn't have.

~Denise

My mom was getting sick

nelle2nelle — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 20:54:33 -0600

My mom was getting sick pretty regularly from the late 1990's onward. She had dealt with kidney stones from my youngest years, but the time elapsed in between was many years... beginning in the late 1990's, the issues were almost monthly.

Finally a urologist noted the kidney creating all the issues was misshapen, likely from an accident as a child. They were reluctant to remove, it, but in by the end of 2002, had no alternative. The kidney was removed, and her overall health has been so much better ever since.

My therapist has donated a kidney, and another friend vows to donate one day. If needed, I surely would. We have two, we need one... and some do not have the one.

nelle

National Kidney Month

Denise — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 20:30:03 -0600

March is National Kidney Month. This calls for a visit to some bloggers who are living with kidney disease or transplants, doesn't it?

Trailguide at Organ Trail graciously shares "What they don't tell you post-transplant"...

For instance, no one will tell you that you now fall into your own little category- not quite sick and not quite well. By appearances, you look pretty normal . By MY appearance?

Can I get a "woot!woot!? But, when measured by scars, doctor's appointments, lab visits for blood draws and other such fun? Again, not so much.

Virginia Postrel, an author and columnist for the NY Times and Forbes, recently donated a kidney to a friend. You can read about the donation and transplant on her blog

I am now out of the hospital and doing fine, recuperating at a friend's nice DC crash pad. I'm a bit weak and not as mobile as usual, but I'm off pain medication and more normal than not.

Over on Live Journal, yipeeladybug, was uncomfortable talking about her kidney disease and possible transplant it work. It just slipped out...

The person called and vented in an angry and incoherent manner about a whole bunch of stuff. After sifting through all that he said, it turned out he really just wanted to know where an amended document was at. But in his raging rant, he shouted at me that he had Crohn's and was on prednisone and couldn't understand how so-and-so (who was off sick) couldn't find a damned document for him...!!

I shouted back at him that I was having a kidney transplant in 2 months myself and here I was trying to help him and would he please calm down and tell me what he wanted....!!!!!

That sure calmed him down fast.

The conversation was over in 5 mins. And I extracted numerous apologies from him, heh heh.

But the sad reality is that I will need this kidney transplant. But he was certainly a lot calmer and more accommodating about letting me check into it and getting back to him about it.

So I was shocked that this statement popped out of me in the heat of the conversation. Never expected to share my own health issues with a total stranger. Never expected to expose my vulnerability, my weakness. For too long, I've hidden it at work, that I have this kidney disease, that I need a kidney transplant.

I worry that sharing this with managers, with colleagues at work means a change of perception towards me, towards my abilities, towards my future.

20 million Americans have Chronic Kidney Disease and another 20 million are at risk. Early detection can help prevent kidney failure. Visit the National Kidney Foundation to learn how you can reduce your risk.

~~Denise
Daily Dose of Denise

***Edited to repair an error. Virginia Postrel DONATED the kidney for a transplant, she did not have the transplant.***