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.

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.

Dialogues with Psyche Continue!

So, I apparently over-estimated my ability to complete an insanely detailed ink drawing of a crocodile in a timely manner, but hey! It turned out amazing and has been a great project to work on during my home dialysis runs, so all's well that ends well, right?  I do believe there might be a plot developing somewhere in my neuro-space, so stay tuned and enjoy!
Cheers,
Ilara

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.

Life as a Dialysis Patient...It Goes on!

As promised, here is the 10-minute film created and produced by Bamboo Shoots Inc. for Sasktel Max TV that went to air a couple of weeks ago:

 

To read more about "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality" (coming soon!) please point your browser to this link.

Meet Jeff States, 72-year old Kidney Donor!

As founder of the Facebook group "Kidney Transplant Donors and Recipients", which 

is a "closed group" due to privacy issues, I have been privileged to read thousands of

inspiring, life-affirming stories of triumph over adversity. Jeff States decided to become what 

we fondly have come to call an "Earth Angel" by donating one of his kidneys to his brother-in-

law at the age of 72. This is his story, in his own words. Thank you so, Jeff, for not only this 

selfless act, but also for demonstrating in a singular act of courage that there is always hope, 

and that we can live to fight another day.

Michael R. Gaudet.
Please visit : mrgaudet.com

"Earth Angel" Jeff States Donates Kidney at 72.

"I wish Michael well on his 'new' kidney journey and also wish him well with his new blog  about 'all things kidney' ."

I first met Michael on a site dedicated to kidney donors, recipients and their families. Michael

lives in Canada and I live in the United States. He is a past kidney recipient and a potential 

future kidney recipient.

I am a kidney donor. My story began when my brother-in-law was diagnosed with End-Stage

Kidney Failure in 2011. By 2012, no one in the family was a match and he had to go on

dialysis. I watched my wife suffer for her younger brother and, although I had no relationship

whatsoever with him, I told her that I would be willing to get tested. She was shocked, but

immediately called her brother. To his credit, he told his sister that I would never have to spend 

a penny during the evaluation process.

We live 1,200 miles apart from each other. At that time I knew nothing about kidney disease

or what was involved in becoming a living kidney donor. I just assumed it was the right thing to

do. My evaluation took 4-5 months. Since my wife's brother lives in New York and I live in 

Florida, I would fly to the hospital where he was on dialysis to go through the testing process.

I will be forever grateful that he had chosen the New York Presbyterian / Weill Cornell 

Medical Center in New York City. I later found out that they are one of the top three kidney

transplant centers in the United States. I was eventually approved to donate to my wife's brother

and our surgeries were scheduled for 12/6/2012. It is now almost two and a half years post-op 

and both the recipient and donor are issue free.

I have learned much about being a living donor and I have become an advocate in South 

Florida, working to get the appropriate information "out there" to the general public, who, like

I was several years ago, are almost totally ignorant about kidney disease and what it means to

become a living donor. My brother-in-law will be 59 later this year and I will be 75.


I was 72 at the time of donation and became the oldest surviving living kidney donor to go 

through the living kidney donation process in the past 53 years of the hospital's transplantation 

program.

"Earth Angel" cradles a kidney, which gestates as a prayer of invocation.