1. I had an appointment with Dr. Bieber, the kidney doctor I see at Kootenai Health, early this morning.
He was clearly happy that I was reaching the one year anniversary (May 11) of my transplant and told me things usually get easier after a recipient passes the one year mark.
I blurted out something that might have sounded stupid, but I said it, "Wow! Things have been so easy so far. That's great news that they could get easier!"
No harm done.
2. Our conversation then took a slight shift, one that I welcomed.
Dr. Bieber said something to the effect of this: transplants are a great thing, but we do have do deal with things that suck (his word...I chuckled inside) post-transplant.
We talked about my blood work and, at this point in time, my numbers do not indicate that I'm becoming diabetic, but kidney transplant recipients have to keep eye on this. I've been told this several times in the past year, including during my pre-op time at Sacred Heart.
He encouraged me to continue to try to gradually lose weight. I had lost some weight since the last time I saw him in March and it will help my system defend against diabetes if I continue to shed pounds.
Then there's the cancer possibility.
I will always live with lowered immunity because of the anti-rejection drugs I take.
Dr. Bieber referred me to a dermatologist. That appointment is coming in two weeks. It'll be an exam to see if any signs of skin cancer are apparent.
Lastly, it was good news that I'm having my prostate checked annually by my primary care provider and that I'm on a regular colonoscopy schedule.
As I thought was true, the vast majority of my blood work looked really good, really stable.
I return to Sacred Heart for a one year exam on May 12.
Back to Dr. Bieber on June 12.
I am now on a once a month schedule for blood work, but that could always change.
3. Jeff played a very healthy dose of the Grateful Dead on Deadish tonight. Part of his show featured different cuts from the Dead's April 9, 1970 show at Fillmore West which included a handful of acoustic tunes.
That acoustic mini-set was purely beautiful, as close to perfectly played and sung
acoustic music as I've ever heard.
If anyone ever doubted that the Grateful Dead's music has roots in American acoustic folk and blues music, a listen to these songs would surely erase that doubt.
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