27

Nov

Hey Everybody! Welcome back!  I hope that you all had a good weekend some of us longer than others.  Yesterday I thought of another thing that I love about U.S. Thanksgiving.  The holiday always falls on the 4th Thursday in November and everyone who doesn't work in retail always takes the next day off.  So you wind up getting your extra day off on Friday instead of having to wait until Monday.  I think that's kinda cool. As I was wrapping up my weekend last night and looking forward to this

2017

25

Nov

Hey Everybody! It is 2:02 am.  I am wide awake so I thought I'd try my number 1 insomnia cure which is writing down the thoughts running around in my head.  Let's see if it works this time. 2 days ago I celebrated U.S. Thanksgiving.  It has taken me over a decade to be able to refer to my favorite holiday by that term.  Before that I always thought of it as the "Real Thanksgiving".  How very American of me!  LOL!  No matter which side of the border I've found myself on on Turkey Day I have

2017

22

Nov

Hey Everybody! Happy Midweek!  Happy Thanksgiving Eve!  In the tradition of my American roots I plan to take the rest of the week off.  So I thought that I would leave you with a good Friday story as we head into the holiday season.  Next let me address the cover image for this post.  It must be a slow news day if those 2 jokers made the cover!  LOL!  I'm just kidding because I have nothing but love and respect for the men in the photo.  On the left is my buddy Ryan and on the right is my

2017

21

Nov

Hey Everybody! It is 9:18 am.  I am sitting in the Transplant Clinic waiting room at TGH.  Monica and I left home at 5:50 am.   After experiencing and changing a flat tire on the van on the shoulder of the main expressway into downtown Toronto just for kicks we arrived at the TGH parking lot at 8:30 am.   NO BUENO!  It was good to find out that the old skills may have been rusty but they came back when I needed them.  The good part was that with my Beautiful's assistance I was able to get the

2017

20

Nov

Hey Everybody! Welcome back!  I hope that you all had a good weekend.  I had a very interesting time beginning almost immediately after I finished my last post.  Banger Nation!  It was a trip y'all! Let me set this first one up for you.  As y'all know I am currently nursing a wound in my side.  Under the doc's orders I am supposed to do nothing more strenuous than "walk lightly".  Your interpretation is as good as mine on that one.  LOL!  Fortunately I usually sit to write these posts so I'm

2017

17

Nov

Hey Everybody! Happy Friday! It is 9:03 am.  I just got back home from my weekly visit to LifeLabs for my local blood work.  Thank you J for doing the driving.  You might look into Uber to keep yourself busy during the off season.  LOL!   Just kidding!  I don't want Miss M to punch me in the throat for putting that idea in your head.  I celebrated my return home by taking my 9 o'clock meds.  How's your morning going?  LOL!  I got up at 7 and I got dressed for my appointment.  Then I did a

2017

14

Nov

Hey Everybody! It is straight up 9 am on the dot.  Here I sit in the 12th floor waiting room wondering if my number for blood work will come up before my clinic appointment time of 9:15.  The now serving number has been stuck on 9 for the past half hour.  That's just the latest thing that's been delayed this morning.  Monica and I were planning to leave home at 5:30 this morning which is our normal time.  We didn't actually leave until 10 'til 6.  A wreck on the 401 delayed us even more.  We

2017

13

Nov

Hey Everybody! Welcome Back!  I hope that you all had a good weekend including a very respectful and appreciative Remembrance/Veterans Day.  Lest We Forget.  No Monday morning blues here y'all.  Today marks 1 month post transplant!!!!  I'm still living rejection and infection free y'all!!!  YAY!!!  Now some of y'all might just be golf clapping on this one as you're thinking that's all well and good there Old Head Banger but need we remind you that you've got that nasty a$$ hole in your side?

2017

10

Nov

Hey Everybody! Happy Friday! This post has been a long time in the making.  If you read the newspaper article that I linked to my last post then you'll already know that this post is bittersweet for me.  In her article Johanna let the cat of the bag about my recent break up from a very intense and committed relationship.  Nothing lasts forever and all good things must come to an end as they say.  If you didn't read the article don't get it twisted Monica and I are fine.  The other girl in my

2017

08

Nov

Hey Everybody! Happy Midweek!  I've been philosophizing again!  I think it's part of processing the kidney transplant and how it fits into my overall journey back to health.  My Skype calls with Paul have helped tremendously.  Thank you my friend for listening and for sharing your truly unique perspective on just WTF has happened in my life over the last 2.75 years and how it all fits in with the all of the stuff from the previous 35 years of our friendship.  Like we said I'm sure my mama and

2017

07

Nov

Hey Everybody! This will be a pretty short post.  I'm just going to cover my Kidney Clinic visit from today.  I got a message early this morning from my friend Terry that he was heading out to a clinic visit of his own in Hamilton.  We wished each other good luck and we plan to compare notes after we get back to K-W later today. Monica and I left K-W at about 10 'til 6 and we parked at TGH at 7:30 am.  It was a pretty smooth ride and I fell asleep 3 times.  Nice!  It was pretty cool outside so

2017

06

Nov

Hey Everybody! Welcome back!  I hope that you all had a good weekend!  I did!  How's Eastern Standard Time treating you so far?  Despite the grim sounding title if I do this right then by the time that I get finished it won't sound as bad as it does right now. The title for this post stems from a conversation that I had with my old roomie Daniel from my last stay at TGH.  Our chat occurred early on as each of us was trying to get to know the person on the other side of the curtain that divided

2017

03

Nov

Hey Everybody! Happy Friday! It is 10:19 am. I am sitting beside my old roommate Daniel's bed back up on the 7th floor. He's not here because they just took him down for an x-ray. While Monica and I are awaiting his return I figured that I'd get started on this post. Daniel's back I'll be back in a bit. It is now 12:58 pm and Monica and I are on our way home! We pulled out of the TGH parking lot at 12:38 pm. Yeah buddy! So far things have gone pretty smoothly. Let me pick back up where I left

2017

02

Nov

Hey Everybody! Let's get right to it.  My last post did not have a happy ending.  Today did not have a happy beginning.  In another concrete example of what I mean when I say to you and to me hang in there and just KEEP BANGIN!  I'll tell you about how I finished the day mattered much more than how I started it. The cover image and the title to this post are a straight up tribute to my previous life with what I considered to be the best restaurant company in America Rare Hospitality

2017

01

Nov

Hey Everybody! Happy Midweek!  I hope that you all had a safe and Happy Halloween!  Happy November!  Pop a couple of pieces of the leftover candy in your mouth when you get the midday blahs. Today's post is going to be a review of our trip to TGH for my second Kidney Clinic follow up appointment. Monica and I left our parking spot at 5:45 am heading for TGH yesterday morning.  We parked at TGH at 7:15 am.  It was a nice quiet ride in and I slept most of the way.  I felt pretty energetic when

2017

30

Oct

"To know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived.  This is to have succeeded."                                                                                                                                                                    -Ralph Waldo Emerson The KBM will grow from hand to hand and man to man and by word of mouth.   I have lived to tell about it and tell about it I shall!

2017

27

Oct

Hey Everybody! HAPPY! HAPPY! FRIDAY! It is 5:24pm.  I am coming to you live from my living room recliner.  It has been a very good day y'all!  Monica and I went back to TGH for my first kidney transplant follow up appointment.  The Kidney Team was firing on all cylinders today.  I moved into my new sandbox and I started making new friends right away.   The Kidney Clinic is held in the same place as the Heart Clinic just on a different day. It was nice to be in familiar surroundings. Monica

2017

25

Oct

Hey Everybody! Happy Midweek!  Was it really just 2 weeks ago that I performed my last home hemodialysis run?!  How crazy is that?!  My life has been a whirlwind of activity since then to say the least.  I did my best to capture every minute of the kidney transplant process from the time that I received the call on Thursday until I went to sleep in my own bed two nights ago.  My blog posts during that time contained a lot of stuff that they don't put in the brochure.  It is my sincere wish that

2017

23

Oct

Hey Everybody! Welcome back!  Banger Nation!  This week is off and running at a gallop!   It is 11:30 am.  I have been in full Head Banger mode since about 6:30 this morning.  I am feeling good y'all!  I dropped in on the LVAD unit on the 4th floor this morning after nurse Asia gave me an inspirational thought about something that I could do to help to spread the KBM.  When I last visited the 4th floor I found out that some of the patients who had received their ABFAB books in CVICU had left

2017

22

Oct

Hey Everybody! It is 2:53 am.  I opened my eyes for the first time around 1 o'clock this morning and when that second breath took I knew that I was already ahead of the curve on having a good day!  Let the church say Amen!  Amen! I haven't written a post on a Sunday in a long time y'all but today isn't just any Sunday!  Atlanta at New England tonight!  I'll be waiting all day for Sunday Niight!  Wouldn't it be something if the Birds played possum and then pulled it out in OT in Foxboro?  LOL!

2017

21

Oct

Hey Everybody! It is 9:26 am.  Well I woke up this morning so it’s already been a good day. That last post was a doozy wasn’t it y'all?  Talk about the ebbs and flows of my life!   After my vanco treatment last night my nose ran a little and my throat felt a little scratchy.  That made me a little uneasy.  I did not sleep well but I woke up feeling no worse than I did when I went to sleep.  I might have even felt a little better.   When my temperature was taken I didn't have a fever and my

2017