Hey folks.

God, I'm a deadbeat when it comes to updates. But honestly, there hasn't been much to report. Kidney is doing fine and my creatinine is holding steady at 1.7. I average a doctors visit and blood test about every five months. Two tests ago my triglycerides were really high. I cut out some bread and potatoes and all is normal now. I also had a slightly elevated potassium level, but that too is under control. Dad is also doing very well and sends his regards.

I did get sick a few weeks ago. It was my first illness since the surgery. Almost two years without much of an immune system and not even a cold, so I guess it was payback time. Some throat virus got me and laid me out for about four days.

The site is doing great. I have recorded almost two million hits and have received more than six hundred pieces of email. This has been more rewarding and successful than I had ever hoped. Thanks.

In other news, mom has been doing chemo for about seven months now. It's not gone, but hope is alive.

Kidney patients really don't have a lot to complain about. This statement hasn't gone over real well with some nay-sayers on some bulletin boards like Web-MD, but it is true. After seeing what a cancer patient has to go through, I can confidently say dialysis and transplant is a piece of cake. Renal patients are lucky to have these options. And those who don't consider themselves fortunate don't deserve the treatment. My mom's only option is chemotherapy and it certainly is not a cure-all. I'd have a dozen more transplants before I went through a single dose of chemo.

I tell almost everyone who emails me this: It could always be worse.

John