A "Visual Prayer" for Every Kidney Patient

About two years ago, my wife Sharon and I started a Facebook group called "Kidney Transplant Donors and Recipients" (aka "KTDR") . She and I were the first two members. Within a year, the membership had swelled to over one-thousand members! The purpose of this group was to create a community that would hopefully share encouragement and moral support. It was working. There was a palpable spirit of sharing and caring that we all enjoyed in those early days. At the beginning, I decided to use the seminal "Recovery" mural as our masthead. I'm referring to the notorious mural that I designed and painted at age 21, that was donated to the Toronto hospital that plucked me back from the abyss of an early grave with a life-saving intervention: dialysis.

Seminal mural "Recovery" was designed and painted at age 21, and donated to the Toronto hospital that saved my life.

When the group was first founded, I still had bragging rights to over thirty-four years with my wildly successful kidney transplant from my brother Steve, which took place on that glorious day of October 17th, 1979. It felt good to be able to say that I held the "kidney transplant longevity record" for Saskatchewan at that time. A year later, our ranks mushroomed to in excess of twelve-thousand worldwide members!

As kidney patients and their caregivers are constantly saying to anyone that will listen, a kidney transplant is NOT a cure, but it is damn good treatment, when all goes well! Flash forward to mid-May of 2014...this was the time when I finally admitted, after about two final years of kicking and screaming in protest, that the life of my transplanted kidney had reached its "best before date". Certain lethal substances were above and beyond acceptable levels in my bloodstream. I was dangerously close to a heart attack, or stroking out. Dialysis was once again imperative!

Once the dust settled after I went back on dialysis, I decided that the "generic" image of the "recovery" figures needed to be more specific, so I revisited the image to tweak it with a certain attribute. After all, I reasoned, the image was in its own way a kind of "invocation" for health in much the same way that my ancient forefathers painted "game" on their cave walls as a sort of visual prayer for a successful hunt. I decided, bearing this progeny in mind, to strategically place a "kidney" in the abdomen of the figure on the far right, to plant that seed in the cosmos...to invoke a SECOND TRANSPLANT from a LIVING DONOR.

There is a subtle but powerful change in the 2015 version of my "Recovery" image. 

Now this revised version of the "Recovery" motif graces the masthead of KTDR, as a visual prayer for ALL the members and for every kidney patient worldwide, that we may ALL attract a living donor, and having done so, sustain glowing, vibrant health for many many year! That is my prayer that I offer up to the universe.

Michael R. Gaudet was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure only fourteen years after his father, Robert, died of kidney disease in Michael’s childhood. After his initial diagnosis, Michael was determined to achieve a measure of immortality. 

He designed and painted the seminal mural "Recovery 1", which he donated to the Toronto hospital that saved his life. This singular act cast the mold for the rest of his life, in which he battled chronic kidney disease and forged a career as one of Canada’s best-known mural painters. 

Michael has since designed and painted over 60 large murals across Canada. Today, he lives with his wife Sharon in the resort village of Manitou Beach in central Saskatchewan, where they own and operate a seasonal art gallery called “G-G’s Gallery & Gifts.” 

Michael is in the final stages of releasing Book 1 of the trilogy "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality". Please steer your search engine here to visit the Facebook page that was created to usher in the launch. Curious? Could this be the book for you? Come on over, we'll see you there.

Dialysis Transportation Crisis Averted...BIG sigh of relief.

Without wheels, I was contemplating switching to a 2-hr 2x a day bus ride. Seriously! After our faithful van died, we were pretty much in crisis mode. You know what happens when we miss dialysis. Not pretty. With dialysis, it is literally "Do or Die!"  

We put our hearts out to the universe and whaat? 

The Toyota Camry gets much better mileage versus the Ford Wind-Star

The next day I'm driving a (albeit high mileage) '98 Toyota Camry, thanks to a little help from my friends. 

Speaking of friends, I am hearing from them that the Camry is a durable, extremely long-lasting vehicle. There are smiles all around, that for the time being we have travel security to and from Saskatoon. Considering in the past 12 months or so I've put over 24,000 kms on the van driving back and forth to dialysis 3x a week, it feels GOOD to know that my mobility is not deprived, as I glumly stewed over that thought only LAST NIGHT.

 "...I believe in the fertility of the universe..."

Michael R. Gaudet was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure only fourteen years after his father, Robert, died of kidney disease in Michael’s childhood. After his initial diagnosis, Michael was determined to achieve a measure of immortality. 

He designed and painted the seminal mural "Recovery 1", which he donated to the Toronto hospital that saved his life. This singular act cast the mold for the rest of his life, in which he battled chronic kidney disease and forged a career as one of Canada’s best-known mural painters. 

Michael has since designed and painted over 60 large murals across Canada. Today, he lives with his wife Sharon in the resort village of Manitou Beach in central Saskatchewan, where they own and operate a seasonal art gallery called “G-G’s Gallery & Gifts.” 

Michael is in the final stages of releasing Book 1 of the trilogy "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality". Please steer your search engine here to visit the Facebook page that was created to usher in the launch. Curious? Could this be the book for you? Come on over, we'll see you there.

3 Top Reasons I Love Dialysis

Happy to be alive to fight another day.

Now that the I am coming around to one full year since I started dialysis again (after my first kick at the can way back in 1979, before my first kidney transplant in 1979 that sustained me for 34+ years!) I think I have a bit of perspective on it. Hence, I can list the "3 Top Reasons I Love Dialysis". 

1) It's keeping me alive to fight another day. There is no question, without the life-saving intervention of dialysis, I would not be here to tap the keys. Some of the toxins in my bloodstream were so elevated before I started that my doctor told me I was in danger of a heart attack or stroke. He said something to the effect..."Please consider starting dialysis BEFORE we see you in an emergency situation. We don't want to lose you." 

Three times a week...I sit for 4 hours in this chair.

2) My blood is getting cleaned to qualify me for another transplant. Though we know dialysis is a life-saving therapy, it is NOT the most preferred lifestyle for a (relatively) young, busy man like me. Dedicating three days a week to this is a big commitment. Even a kidney transplant...miraculous as it might seem...is NOT a cure, and I am a living testament to this. On the other hand, a kidney transplant is certainly a huge improvement over thrice-weekly dialysis IMHO.

3) I spend my dialysis time being productive, thanks to my trusty laptop. In the past year I have been working on fine-tuning my memoir called "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality". Point your search engine to this link to read more.

Holding the first "Copy Proofs" of the "Dancing with..." trilogy.

Michael R. Gaudet was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure only fourteen years after his father, Robert, died of kidney disease in Michael’s childhood. After his initial diagnosis, Michael was determined to achieve a measure of immortality. 

He designed and painted the seminal mural "Recovery 1", which he donated to the Toronto hospital that saved his life. This singular act cast the mold for the rest of his life, in which he battled chronic kidney disease and forged a career as one of Canada’s best-known mural painters. 

Michael has since designed and painted over 60 large murals across Canada. Today, he lives with his wife Sharon in the resort village of Manitou Beach in central Saskatchewan, where they own and operate a seasonal art gallery called “G-G’s Gallery & Gifts.” 

Michael is in the final stages of releasing Book 1 of the trilogy "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality". Please steer your search engine here to visit the Facebook page that was created to usher in the launch. Curious? Could this be the book for you? Come on over, we'll see you there.

Short Film Coming: Your Preview

Over the past several weeks, Saskatoon-based Bamboo Shoots Inc.  have been industriously working on the creation of a "short film" based on my story of living with a life-long chronic health issue and its impact on my life and art. Sasktel MaxTV commissions Bamboo Shoots to romp across the countryside here in Saskatchewan to make short films on worthy subjects, events, etc.

We started off filming in my studio, with an interview and a look at some of my easel paintings.

We started off with some "show and tell" at my studio.

After the studio segment was filmed, I requested an interview from my dialysis pod. I guess you could say I am a "man on a mission" when it comes to raising awareness of kidney health and all that implies. I figured that. even though it might make some people squeamish and uncomfortable, that is just too damn bad. It's my thrice weekly reality, along with millions of other dialysis patients world-wide.

Thrice weekly dialysis treatments will (hopefully) sustain  me until my second kidney transplant.

Just a brief overview, in case you are new here... I was first diagnosed with End Stage Kidney Failure at age 20, while living and working in Toronto. This was in 1979. After about seven months on dialysis, which saved my life at the time, I received the "Gift of Life" aka a kidney transplant, donated in a singular act of love and courage by my brother Steven. His incredible act of generosity sustained me in excellent health until mid-May of 2014, at which time I returned to dialysis. Once again, this is a life-saving measure, as the toxins slowly built up in my system to dangerous levels.

Thrice-weekly dialysis treatments are once again keeping me alive as I await the "Gift of Life".

The final segment of filming took place, again at my request, in the sanctuary of Sacred Heart Church in Saskatoon. This is where my huge mural soars to a height of almost fifty feet above the alter. I felt it was very important to emphasize that people living with a chronic disease are still capable of achieving their dreams with enough ambition and focus.

My mural at Sacred Heart soars to almost 50 feet in height in the sanctuary.

It is actually quite hard to imagine the visual force of this mural when your viewing experience is limited to a photograph. I hope you can appreciate the scale of this piece by seeing the figures in the image above.

I chose to discuss the distinctly "feminist" nature of the images in the mural.

My intention with the third segment of the film was to openly disclose the rather "radical" feminist leanings incorporated into the mural design. With such a high profile platform as this (for artistic expression), I worked strategically to embed evocative references to the "male and female" aspects of God/dess. After we (the parish priest and I) were chastised (and threatened) by the powers-brokers at the Vatican that our vision of the duality of God/dess was deemed a HERESY, I became doubly determined that my artwork would reflect my personal belief that a mature God would have no difficulty with the idea of the power and grace of His feminine nature.

The "Virgin Mary" is depicted apologetically as a full-blown "Goddess".

At present, I await the link to the short film. It is already on the public airwaves and I have heard from a few friends who subscribe to MaxTV that it is a great ten-minute film. For now, I have only seen the trailer, which lasts about one minute. You can view it here. 

Michael R. Gaudet was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure only fourteen years after his father, Robert, died of kidney disease in Michael’s childhood. After his initial diagnosis, Michael was determined to achieve a measure of immortality. 

He designed and painted the seminal mural "Recovery 1", which he donated to the Toronto hospital that saved his life. This singular act cast the mold for the rest of his life, in which he battled chronic kidney disease and forged a career as one of Canada’s best-known mural painters. 

Michael has since designed and painted over 60 large murals across Canada. Today, he lives with his wife Sharon in the resort village of Manitou Beach in central Saskatchewan, where they own and operate a seasonal art gallery called “G-G’s Gallery & Gifts.” 

Michael is in the final stages of releasing Book 1 of the trilogy "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality". Please steer your search engine here to visit the Facebook page that was created to usher in the launch. Curious? Could this be the book for you? Come on over, we'll see you there.