My Kidney Story - Part 4

If you are new to reading my Kidney Posts, please feel free to catch up with Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

In picking up the story following my three treatments of Cytoxin.....

After having endured more than enough of my nephrologist, and already living in Virginia, we made the decision that I needed to change to someone more local for my kidney treatment. After doing a little research I found Northern Virginia Nephrology Associates.

Great find, in retrospect. My first appointment, though, was not good at all. I had an appointment scheduled at 3:30 and finally got in to see my new nephrologist at around 5:30. Not the way to start. Though I knew that my former doctor was old-school and antiquated, I never had to wait in his office.

This was also my first experience with a Dialysis center. As it turned out, the doctor only visited the satellite office once a week, so they just used two offices in the Dialysis Center. People sitting around me were there for completely different reasons. Some went back for dialysis, and some just sat and waited (and waited, and waited) for doctor appointments.

When I finally got back to see the doctor, things just got worse. He had received my records from my previous nephrologist only the Friday before (it was a Monday), and had read bits and pieces. He informed me of two things right off the bat, right after "hello, my name is":

I would be on dialysis in five years and
I would have a transplant in ten.

Extremely scary words for me to hear. (still) He proceeded to tell me that it was his last day, and they really should not have sent a new patient to him. He would be starting his own practice, but that was at least a year off.

I left his office that day feeling less confident about life than when I had gone in. I was upset to the point of rage. Why would they schedule me to meet with someone new, just to break the bad news about my future to me, so that when I got to meet with a longer-term doc, they would seem to be more lenient? I didn't care. I was told "5 years, 10 years" and did not have an appointment to see the new doctor for two months.

It was well worth the wait! I met with Dr V. Broumond about a week into his partnership with Neph. Assoc. of NOVA. As this was his first practice, I was one of his first patients. I became a challenge to him almost immediately. When I told him what the other nephrologist told me about the 5/10 year "plan" - he reassured me that we would find something to circumvent that idea and get me a much longer life.

We gave prednisone another chance, to no avail. Dr. Broumond talked to me about going onto Cyclosporine, which is a drug typically used for transplant patients. It's an immunosuppresant.

I was more than a bit nervous about it, but agreed that we had to have a new plan of attack. I started out quickly on 150 mg twice daily, which brought my protein levels in my urine down to much more manageable than they had been since getting sick.

About a year later, we began to lower my dosage slowly, which sent my protein back up. Not skyrocketting by any means, but we decided to keep things at a higher level, so long as my long term health was not in danger. I have continued on Cyclosporine, and am still on it.

Since that brings us to the early part of this year, I am going to close this post. I will have one more "My Kidney Story Part ##" to follow soon, and then will just keep things updated as they happen!

Okay, I want comments!

An earlier post asked what your favorite Christmas Song is and I got nothing from nobody. I'll ask a different question:

What is your LEAST favorite Christmas song? We've got one of those two-weeks-before-Thanksgiving-playing-24-hours-a-day-Christmas-Music. Anny is addicted, and I will listen to it in place of commercials on other stations.

My least favorite Christmas song has to be Christmastime in Washington. I detest it at this point. I am a huge fan of cheesy music, but this one crosses the line. Just gross.

Do they even play Christmastime in Washington in other regions? I'll be in Saint Louis this weekend, so I'll keep an ear out for it while I'm there.

But really: what is your least favorite Christmas song?

Happy Birthday to....

ME!!!

And Anny too?!?

Yes, my wife and I share a birthday. We don't do gifts, so my gift is letting the world know that it's her birthday.

Happy Birthday Anny!

Last Year UCC. This Year UMC. When PCUSA?

Another year is wrapping up, and we all know that this is the time of year that those who do not normally go to church look for a place to worship. Our Presbytery is doing an ad campaign on local talk-radio station WTOP. It directs people to one of three websites that we (I) have updated to reflect services that our churches are having.

Our Presbytery put up the cash for this campaign. We are the ones that, in response to our churches, organized it, too.

Last year the United Church of Christ put on a media blitz with GREAT commercials that ran across the country. The commercials were moving, and directed people to their special advertising site where you could find out more about their denomination.

This year the PCUSA has once again passed up on the idea, and the United Methodist Church is doing GREAT things. I saw this one today:



I know that the PCUSA put money into developing a campaign, but stopped short of ever putting it into action. Oh well. Maybe that is a contributing factor to our "dieing denomination."

(You can find other UMC advertisements HERE.)

If you're in the DC Metro Area this Christmas and are looking for a congregation to worship with, check our our sites! Maryland is HERE. Virginia is HERE. Washington, DC is HERE.

Barack Obama on Monday Night Football

I didn't catch it live, but saw it yesterday and had to share! He had me fooled for about half of it!

**As usual, I don't like to leave videos up, so here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/v/xdLhw6bgyLQ

Another Music Post

We bought the new James Taylor Christmas CD and have not been disappointed! Leave it to JT (not Justin Timberlake, you crazy reader!) to take even the traditional and make it fun!

Anyway - On his CD there is a song called "Some Children See Him" which I had never heard in any sense before. I googled it this morning and found out that it's a "Traditional Poem" that apparently missed my tradition. It's a great poem and so I will share:


Some Children See Him
By Alfred Burt

Some children see Him lily white
the infant Jesus born this night
Some children see Him lily white
with tresses soft and fair

Some children see Him bronzed and brown
the Lord of heav'n to earth come down
Some children see Him bronzed and brown
with dark and heavy hair (with dark and heavy hair!)

Some children see Him almond-eyed
This Saviour whom we kneel beside
Some children see Him almond-eyed
With skin of yellow hue!

Some children see Him dark as they
Sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray
Some children see Him dark as they
And, ah! they love Him so!

The children in each different place
Will see the Baby Jesus' face
Like theirs but bright with heav'nly grace
And filled with holy light!

O lay aside each earthly thing
and with thy heart as offering
Come worship now the infant King
'tis love that's born tonight!

'tis love that's born tonight!

Again, just thought I would share!

I'll post again soon. I'm not avoiding posting, there's just a lot happening right now!