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.

A Love Letter to the Universe

In the space of 24 hours I went from feeling helplessly stranded without transportation to and from dialysis therapy (my faithful van died!) to being surprised and delighted by the arrival in my life of a different vehicle. I couldn't have anticipated this happening so swiftly...but now that I've driven the new-to-me vehicle from home into Saskatoon, to arrive on time for dialysis today, I'm feeling richly blessed by the universe. To be more specific, I'm feeling blessed to have such a good friend who is watching my back, to suggest this vehicle!

It's a V-6 Toyota Camry, which means I will enjoy considerably better fuel efficiency over the Ford WindStar that just croaked. Driving into the city this morning, I had this deep feeling of gratitude...could have been the high-fidelity stereo cranked up, or the cruise control activated...I don't know, but that feeling was palpable.

I decided in my secret heart that the very best course to take, even with all of the challenges of dealing with the reality of Chronic Renal Disease, has got to be...think and live positively.

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.