I meant to do this a while back, but I’ve been busy and not particularly motivated to write. Because so many of my readers obviously are interested in my health – you guys overwhelmed me with your donations – I thought I’d let you know how things are going.
I had my four month, 4,000 mile lube, oil change and tire rotation at Mayo earlier this month. My A1C (90-day average blood sugar) was 4.2 – the minimum “normal” range – so I’m no longer diabetic. My cholesterol, both good and bad, is excellent. So is my blood pressure, though it drops pretty low from time to time when I’m standing and not moving around much. My weight has stabilized at about 210lbs., a weight I haven’t seen since I was about 19. And my “low-mileage pre-owned Lexus” liver is functioning perfectly.
That’s the good news. The bad news is, my kidneys are running at about 20% efficiency, and they don’t appear to be coming back. I’m anemic, and apparently will remain so until I get a functioning kidney. Until then, I’m on dialysis 3.5 hours a day, three days a week. I’m going to have fistula surgery on March 1, and about 6-8 weeks later it should be usable. Some time after that, the catheter in my chest will be removed, and I’ll be able to shower again without having to put a tarp over it.
My medical insurance company has approved me for a kidney transplant. Now I have to go back up to Mayo for two or three days for further tests as part of the transplant evaluation. However, because I recently received a liver, this moves me up the transplant priority list.
If this keeps up, I’m going to be the Six Million Dollar Man without the super-strength or the telescopic eye.
Anyway, there you go. Thanks for being interested.