Hard to believe, but last week was a year and a half since the transplants. Proof positive of how time flies!

As of July, almost half of the vaccinated people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. were immunocompromised (a weakened immune system), over three million people (2.7% of the adult population). There are a variety of conditions for this, and in my case it's from the anti-rejection drugs: they perform a lifesaving vital function but at the same time impair my body’s defenses against infection.

My anti-rejection drugs would be horrifically expensive for a patient without insurance: a 30-day supply of Envarsus runs $550 and Myfortic $1,855. Fortunately most of that is covered.

There are no more diet restrictions (more on that later) or prohibited foods. Sleeping well, usually until 9:00 a.m. when the alarm jolts me awake for the first fistful of the day’s pills. An afternoon nap is optional but not always required. Deb and I enjoy watching Netflix and BritBox shows, and I still read lots of books.

However, I continue to be bothered by my right hand which has annoyed me for about a year. I’ve tried various tricks, remedies, and workarounds, but so far to no avail. It seems to have a mind of its own, locating a fork or spoon and shoveling extra food into my mouth, resulting in a positive calorie balance. I’m trying to lose the 30 pounds packed on since I went under the knife, which is 105,000 extra calories.  An appointment with the transplant weight management group is in a couple weeks.

I swim every afternoon at the club as Deb does at a separate facility. We haven’t even used the shower at home for quite a while. Walking on the trail and around the lake now that winter is gone will be great to get back to, and you’ll start to see the umpteen flower pictures on Facebook from those strolls.

I continue with scheduled blood draws where the transplant team and primary care physician monitor the results and post them online to MyChart. Any highs or lows are flagged, which usually means modifying a medication dose, of which there are 18!

The grandkids (ages 1 and 5) live 14 miles away and we see them several times a week. We’ve gone with them and mom & dad to all sorts of fun stuff like the zoo, swimming, parks, museums, orchards, farms, and playgrounds.

My daily assignment is to drink plenty of water to keep the new kidney and pancreas properly hydrated. I must put away seven 20 oz. bottles of water, which is not an easy task. Now if was beer back in the day…

I’m enrolled in the third comedy improvisation class, and (somewhat, kind of, sorta) thinking of taking the stand-up comedy class which comes next.

Best regards to everyone and a sincere thanks for all your support this past year and a half.