Day 157: Don’t Give Up

2020: Best Year of My Life - What can I say, it's been one hell of a year.

Month +4: So This is Recovery?

+4 Months: For most people, when you say you're recovering from something, they typically think of you returning to normal, or at least to how you were before you got sick. But in reality there is no going back. You don't so much recover as reinvent yourself as you adapt to the person you have since become.

Day +107: Helter-Skelter

Helter-Skelter: I started writing this on World Mental health Day (10th October) and over a month later I am still struggling to put it into words, such is the sensitivity of the matter. These may not be the right words in the right order but I hope you get the gist.

Day +98: Sorry I Forgot…

They say that you don't realise how sick you are until you try to recover. Now I don't know who they are but they make a damn good point. Recovering from this transplant is both an enforced period of rest, as well as an opportunity to do some serious reflection, but the thing is, I can't remember.

Day +88: A Day In The Life

There are many unusual happenings in the life of a kidney patientThese happenings do not end with transplant, you simply move from a DVD to Netflix and the comedy show continues. Like this afternoon when I got a pain in my arm and was sent to A&E for emergency scans and a series of injections.

Week +12: Slow Return

It's been a very slow and uncomfortable couple of weeks. I didn't blog last week as I really didn't have a lot to say. I discovered that at this stage of recovery, it doesn't take much discomfort to for it to become a constant and all-consuming distraction. It took me to a place I wasn't overly happy in and the best thing I could do was sit quietly and wait patiently.

Week +10: A Short One

Week +10: This has been a bit of a crummy week as on Wednesday, something that first afflicted me in hospital made a painful and unwelcome reappearance.

Week +9: Goodbye Stent (and Dignity)

Week +9: Goodbye Stent (and Dignity). This blog is very much intended to be a source of information for potential transplant patients, as well as friends and family and everyone who is interested in the kidney failure/transplant journey.

Week +8: Shot Across The Bow

Week +8: This week kept me on my toes. I had my first bath in a long time, paid an unexpected and frantic visit to hospital and went for a walk in the country. A sign of things to come.

Week +7: Thinking Longevity

Week +7: I intend to give this kidney the best chance of longevity possible, so am thinking about health and well-being like never before. I daresay there will be challenges to come but the fitter and stronger I am the better placed I will be to meet these head on. I firmly believe this is the best way to pay tribute to my donor and to all of you who have supported me throughout my journey.