Three Beautiful Things 03/02/15: Getting There, A Day at the Transplantation Center, Brazilian Fish Stew

1.  The first challenge of the day was to drive from the parking garage at the Day's Inn to the parking garage at the University of Maryland Medical Center.  I was behind the wheel and I got a bit disoriented, but the Deke got me turned around, headed in the correct direction, and after a few minutes, we found the garage and got ourselves parked.

2.  The Deke and I spent about six hours or so at the Transplantation Center.  I met my Nurse Coordinator, watched a video, and we talked with a surgeon, nephrologist, social worker, dietician, and the finance person.  I had blood drawn.  I also received a list of other things I need to do in the near future, including more blood work, chest X-ray, cardiology work, and possibly a colonoscopy. There were two themes of the day:  I've been taking good care of myself and no one sees any problems that would keep me from getting listed and, if I find a living donor, the kidney I would receive at some point would be a better one. One other thing:  I started this process early on.  I'll see if what I'm about to say still holds true when I see my nephrologist on March 16th, but, right now, I am not in urgent need of a kidney.  I am not on dialysis and, right now, I feel great.  My disease has progressed very slowly and I'm hoping it will continue to be very slow.

3.  The Deke and I had originally thought we might have a dinner in Baltimore after all these appointments, but we changed our minds and made our way, with ease, back to Greenbelt.  I went to the Co-op, bought a couple of cod fillets and a couple of red peppers, brought them home, cut up the fish, coated the pieces with a combination of lime juice, cumin, paprika, and minced garlic and let them sit in the fridge for over 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, I sauteed an onion, sliced up the red pepper, and then combined the fish and red peppers with a can of diced tomatoes and a can of coconut milk, let it all simmer for about 20-30 minutes and the result was a fantastic fish stew.  It was a comforting meal for topping off a tiring day.