dawn of new year's eve!

That's right, this is my second new year's eve of 2025! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

"Hey, g'friend! Glad to see the weather has finally improved."

You and me both, sister! It's so very good to be out of the house again. Even better, to have luncheon with one of my favorite people!

"Dawn!!! That must mean y'all are dining at The King & I for Thai?"

You betcha! 

"But wait... I'm confused. Isn't she supposed to be in New Jersey for surgery?"

Well, that donation of her kidney to her cousin has been postponed. Her cousin failed her pre-op appointment two weeks ago. It seems her liver enzymes are elevated and so now she has to see a liver specialist to find out what's going on.

"Oh, no! Do they know what may have caused it?"

Well, Dawn and I were talking and I told her that my bet is on the meds Kim was given last month when she was hospitalized for pneumonia. If her liver is now an issue, chances are those medications were a strain on that toxic waste site. All of those metabolites from the drugs had to be processed by the liver and, with the kidneys not filtering waste as they should, that was extra work for the liver.

"Damn. Do they know which liver enzymes are effected?"

Dawn told me it's the alkaline phosphatase that's elevated. It's unknown at this time if some other disease is at fault, or if it's a temporary elevation resulting from the pneumonia meds, but her cousin goes next Tuesday to the specialist. As I told Dawn, that will mean a series of tests and more doctor visits, so the kidney transplant may well be postponed for a couple of months. Meanwhile, I recommended to her that she go ahead and line up to meet with her clients and get this new year started with her career.

"That's true. I doubt anything will go on with the transplant until March, at least."

My money is on May. The specialist will order another test, which will take time. Then there will be the followup visit about that test, with most likely another test to be scheduled, with yet another followup with the doc, and so on. That will eat up at least two months. I remember burning through an entire summer with a specialist - Dr. Edward Rydzak - with tests and visits about abdominal bloating, only to find out I was lactose intolerant. Seriously, an entire summer! That was in 2008.

"I remember that quite well. Perhaps Dawn's cousin will weather this storm in good time, and still get to the point of being transplant-worthy."

I do hope so. I truly do. This is going toward her third year on dialysis.