Well, despite a rainy start to the day, we managed to rally a team of 15 (including Sammy the dog), and we raised over $2,000 for the PKD Foundation. It says a lot about how generous and caring our friends and family are that that I did a lot less fundraising work than I usually do but was still able to pull that off! Thank you all -- AGAIN!
2017 - another one in the books!
The best part was that at the Walk, the other participants could clearly see how well Mike is doing. Last year at this time, Mike was just hanging on - he was tired all the time, never felt right, often felt downright bad, and it showed. He was really sick. The 3-mile Walk was a chore. But this year? Easy!
Mike has come all that way even though - as you know - his has not been the easiest recovery. Despite two rounds of IVIG (in December and in May), he is still dealing with Parvovirus, which puts us in somewhat uncharted territory (but we're still in the hands of excellent doctors.) The good news is that Mike is currently asymptomatic, and the longer he is out from the transplant date, the more confident they are that they will be able to solve this relatively minor problem. Mike and his team are working on it, and we hope that he will remain asymptomatic and eventually (we're talking a year or so from now) get a negative test for the virus.
One more thing we've been trying to do this past year is to help spread the word about others who are also seeking amazing people who are both healthy enough and generous enough to donate a kidney. A while ago, I shared the story of our friend and neighbor David Ganak - he's still searching! There has been a good response, but please - continue to share his story if you can.
Now, Marc Rubman, brother of our friend Judy, has launched a search for a new donor. He has had a rough couple of years but has been cleared by the Mayo Clinic to find a donor. Judy, who has PKD herself, welcomed us into the Boston PKD community years ago. She has done endless great work for the PKD Foundation, and has been a great source of support and information over the years.
All it takes is to spread the word -- the right kidneys will be found, and we can keep two more great guys and their families on the right side of healthy and away from dialysis clinics and hospitals. Maybe it's your second chance (if you were disappointed that Jon got chosen over you to donate his kidney to Mike.) ;-)
As always - we are immensely grateful for your love and support, and as we approach one year since the transplant, we can honestly say that we cannot imagine having done any of this without you all...
Samantha (& Mike)