"So, What's It Like Being You?"

"So, what's it like being you?"

That's the question an old friend used to ask. Often in a randomly aggressive manner. Usually with humor, but really, you never knew.

Another old and mutual friend used the phrase as the topic of a post on his blog Philosophy for Real Life. He remembers several answers, but suggests that the answer of a university professor is the correct answer. "I don't know. I have no basis for comparison."

My answer: "Pretty damn good."

Of course I really have no comparison, but after battling PKD, two years of dialysis, a year with no kidneys, and now being seven years post transplant, I know the alternative. And as of today, I have no wish to explore the alternative. Life seems more and more miraculous with every new day.

Last week was check up time at Dallas Transplant Institute. I've been going in every four months for the last couple of years, though this visit was delayed a couple of months by the Holiday season. It was also time for two annual tests, a 24 hour urine sample and the dreaded Glofil test, so it was a long, cold Thursday morning, drinking iodine laced diet coke and countless glasses of water.

But I passed, all conditions are stable. Kidney performance was the best it's been since the onslaught of the BK Virus some years ago. Historically it's been variable with creatinine hovering between 3 and 3.5. It measured 2.85 in September, 2.55 last week, so that's two labs in a row showing improved performance. Not that I can read anything into the numbers except to say, "Great!"

My blood pressure was excellent, my pulse was unusually low, but it has been for some time now. I saw a new doctor and she seemed concerned, she decreased my blood pressure meds and knocked my Prograf down 0.5 mg. We'll see what happens. So I'm back to tracking blood pressure a couple of times a day and an appointment with a cardiologist for a routine check. I go back to the Clinic in a month, so we'll know more then.

I have much bigger news on the ophthalmic front. The Doctor has decided that its time to go after my cataracts, so I am going in for a new lens (len?) in one eye Monday morning. He will also do a laser adjustment for my small astigmatism. Since my right eye is my weak eye, he will adjust the lens for close to medium range. In two weeks he will install a monocular lens for distance in the left eye. The combination should pretty much eliminate the need for glasses. So that's like, HUGE!

The other problem with the right eye is scarring and chronic iritis which stemmed from one of the treatments for the BK Virus. They attempted to use two meds to rid me of the virus. Cidofovir, which is toxic to the kidney, and Leflunomide. Both eyes, my right eye in particular, became inflamed immediately. I have had erratic but chronic inflammation ever since. However, the doctor is not concerned with complications from the surgery.

That's my news for now. I'll report back after my next appointment!