I know it's been forever since I posted...but this video has to been seen! Probably one of the best commercials I've ever seen!! 

Also....I promise to do an update on here in the next few weeks as there's a whole new chapter to Channy's Liver!

Fighting Fire With Fire - HIV Vs Cancer Cells

This gave me goose bumps! Does this hold promise? Time will tell. I've lost family members to cancer, and one to AIDS related cancer. Could a disease as horrible as HIV do good? 

MIND BLOWN!

Who would dare to pit one fatal disease against another... inside the body of an six-year-old patient? The results will shatter all expectations.

Recycled Kidney Dish

Ok, so way back in 2009....I somehow, accidentally, may have stolen a kidney shaped dish from Toronto General Hospital. In fact, it may have looked a lot like the one pictured here. 

It's hard to say how this pan made its way into my luggage, but it did....along with a few hospital robes too! In any case, it has never been used by me as a puke pan...and I now consider it a souvenir from my liver donation. For the most part, this dish has sat out on a shelf in the sunroom, being used as a catch-all for loose change, dust bunnies, loose nails, screws and whatever. Back in November of 2012, my mom took the pan to a florist here in town and had them work some magic on it! The following result was an anniversary/birthday gift! Pretty cool huh?

Multiple Living Organ Donation - Kidney Anniversary

Hello blog! Nice to see you again!

Today marks the one year anniversary of my kidney donation. Even though it does feel like a year has passed, I don't really feel all that different on the inside and am happy to report my remaining kidney is doing the job of two, pumpin' out the pee!

For me, this day is just another day...business as usual. I hope whoever has my kidney is doing wonderful! I never heard anything about my recipient following my discharge from Toronto general, so I don't know if my kidney is still working, or if it was rejected. Maybe it's better I don't know. If it is still working, my only other hope is that at some point today, my recipient runs a finger along the scar marking his or her belly, and gives a silent thank-you. Actually, I like to believe he or she does that every day.

In other news, I'm still trying to migrate all my notes and pictures from the donation process from my old shitty PC, to my sleek, reliable new iMac and apple products! Once this is done, the plan is to do massive update on this page. That's the plan anyway. That's it for now though, remember to sign a donor card!! Links to do so are on the right.

Multiple Living Organ Donation - Kidney 7 Months

Yipes! Once again, this update is long overdue! May 19th marked my 6 month anniversary for donating my kidney at Toronto General. I feel great! My incision has healed up very nicely, I have no pain or discomfort at all, and I have no adverse effects or feelings since the ordeal began! In fact....I feel great!

Shortly after I was discharged, the hospital sent me an aftercare package that outlined when I needed to have follow-up testing done. This package included forms and requisition papers for a six month follow-up. The tests to be done? A 24 hour urine collection followed by a blood test. The instructions were pretty simple.

1) Obtain a clean plastic jug from your Coordinator or local lab.

2)At the start of the test day, void (pass your urine) and discard it.Write down the exact date and time of that first void. This is the start of the test even though you have discarded the urine.

3) For the next 24 hours, each time you void, put the urine in the jug. Save all your urine for the next 24 hours.

4)The following morning at the same time as your first void, empty your bladder and save that urine in the jug as well. This is the end of the test. Write down the exact time and date of your last void.

5) While collecting the urine, keep the jug away from any source of heat.

6) Return the jug to the lab once your 24 hours is complete. At that time, they will take a blood sample.

Now, I'm no stranger to the 24 hour urine collection procedure, it's just hard to be discrete. I mean, the container they give you for the actual collection isn't exactly a fashion accessory. In fact....it looks like a gas can!

Behold...the 24 hour urine collection vessel!

Of course, that wouldn't even be an issue if I had started the collection say...on a Sunday morning, in the comfort and privacy of my own home like any normal, sane person would have done! But no...I decided to do it midweek.....while at work.

Now, even that wouldn't be so bad if I worked in an office, or in a place where I could just leave the container and fill it when I needed to pee, but the fact is I'm on the road all day...in and out of places every few minutes...surrounded by people, but that's what I did. Any time I had to pee, I grabbed my bright, neon-orange piss jug, tucked it into a plastic Wegman's grocery bag, and ventured through the particular store I was in to the bathroom where I would collect my precious urine! Ummm...don't think for a minute that this didn't raise a few eyebrows...although I did tell a co-worker it was my kool-aid jug! This went on all day till the following day when I dropped off the jug and did my blood test.

The purpose of this test is to see how well my remaining kidney filters waste products. The amount of waste product, (creatinine) in the urine is compared to the amount in the blood. The lab will test my pee and my blood and send the results off to Toronto General. If there was a problem, or any unusual readings, they'll get in touch with me.

The entire process is fairly harmless, but as a public service I offer this advise....be careful with the piss jug. Even though it does have a lid on it, it doesn't 'seal' very well...no matter how tight you think the lid is on it. While in transit, place the jug on a level, secure surface, not on the front seat of your new Toyota Matrix. Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, do not at any time shake the piss jug for any reason! Just trust me on that.

Behold....my 24 hour pee jug, with 'void'!

Canadian National Blood Donor Week

Canadian Blood Services celebrates National Blood Donor Week June 13 – 19, 2011. National Blood Donor Week provides an opportunity to celebrate and thank the generous donors from coast to coast who support the blood system in Canada and help ensure the health of their fellow citizens. The week also builds awareness of the importance of blood, plasma, platelet and stem cell donations, and encourages more Canadians to give blood—especially during the challenging summer months.

This year’s theme for National Blood Donor Week is “Rally Together to Save Lives”. Every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood. That’s why Canadian Blood Services is rallying communities across the country to come together and show that collectively, blood donations can make a positive impact on someone’s life. To meet Canada’s future blood needs, we need to inspire more Canadians to join the movement.

We need communities to rally together because it takes many units of blood to save a patient. One blood donation equals one unit of blood. For instance, it can take:

50 units of blood to help someone in a car accident
2 units to help someone who needs brain surgery
5 units to help someone in cancer treatment
8 units a week to help someone with leukemia
5 units to save someone who needs cardiovascular surgery
2 to 8 units to help someone with internal bleeding
2 units a day to help someone undergoing a bone marrow transplant
4 units a month to help someone with Aplastic Anemia
2 units for a hip replacement

Other compelling numbers include...

43% of first time donors go with someone else to donate
Approximately 1 in 2 Canadians are eligible to give blood. Last year 1 in 60 actually did.
52 per cent of Canadians say they or a family member have needed blood or blood products for surgery or for medical treatment. (Ipsos-Reid)
Every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood
A healthy person can donate blood every 56 days
Canadian Blood Services is in your community – there are over 20 000 clinics nationwide
The donation process takes 1 hour – actual collection only takes approx 10-15 minutes

To book an appointment to give blood, call 1-888-2-donate (1-888-236-6283)

Visit online at www.blood.ca or visit www.bloodsignal.ca

If giving blood isn't your thing...why not sign up to be a organ donor! Or do both!!

Bree - The Sweetest Soul

The world is losing one of it's sweetest souls, Brianne (Bree) Cordick. Although I never met, or talked to her, I followed her journey through her blog "The Blog Blog." Bree received a lung transplant in August 2009 after suffering from a condition called Bronchiectasis. The transplant worked and Bree continued to be the coolest, kick-ass chick I have never met! Sadly, her other condition, ADA SCID, continued to fight her. In late February, she was admitted to hospital for what she called a 'broken head.' Daily checks to her blog revealed no updates, but through other bloggers I learned her health was failing rapidly as her doctors fought this new mystery virus.

Bree's condition worsened daily until late last week, when she was taken off life support. The world is turning so much slower today. Rest easy Bree, you will be missed, and thank you for letting me know you.

Bree passed away on May 25/2011