Growing up my parents were on the “Benesh Diet.” It was mainly raw and vegan with lots of fresh vegetable and fruit juice. One of the recipes that came out of this diet was carrot-apple juice. Although I ate healthy as child my diet was more varied than way my…
I share in the book that I am on the kidney transplant list as well as some background as to how I landed myself there, but I wanted to lay out the specifics of exactly what that means in my case. I was referred to my local transplant center in…
When I was young and had to go to the doctor or dentist, my mom and I would always go out to eat afterward. Usually to somewhere like The Souplantation (a soup/salad bar) which to a child is a smorgasbord of deliciousness. My young mind began to associate the idea…
Self care is essential to keeping stress in check. Most of what you hear is around meditating, healthy diet, exercising and other boring stuff. Don’t get me wrong. That stuff is valuable, it is just, well, sometimes, boring. What I think is hands-down most important about self care is that…
Do you ever need to borrow someone else’s wisdom? Especially after a long day of coping with crappy health? You don’t have the energy to read a long-winded dissertation on healing. You just want the perfect one or two sentences to restore you sense of power and hope. Something to…
I loved living in Portland, Oregon. Phillip and I spent 4 years there, and each time we visit it feels like home. Here’s a picture of the view from the back of our house. I would sit for hours and stare out at that yard. When we knew that we…
Two years ago, I was having issues with phosphorous. Phosphorous is a mineral that your kidney maintains balance of within your body by filtering excess out of your blood. My lab work indicated that my phosphorous was high. The solution, for me, was relatively simple. My doctor recommended I take…
I am sitting in my doctor’s office. It is 3:30, time for miracles. In 15 minutes the doctor will tell me that I’m in “late stage 4” kidney disease, a.k.a. getting close to kidney failure. He will urge me to start contemplating dialysis “just in case your transplant plans fall…