First and foremost I want to apologize for vanishing like I did.
At the end of April, during a routine checkup I received some news that shocked me and brought my mortality to the forefront of my consciousness. I’ve always known that I wouldn’t live forever, but at 67 I figured I had another twenty to thirty years left in me. I may still have that much time left, but the news I received drastically changed my outlook on my diet and the things I’ve been putting into my mouth over all these years.
I was diagnosed with stage 3A chronic kidney disease. Which is considered the first step towards dialysis. Which was scary for me as my mom went through dialysis three times a week before she died, and every time she was left feeling drained. She would feel so bad afterwards that all she wanted to do was die. Eventually she refused the procedure entirely and passed at the age of 77.
She did have other health problems that I don’t have at this point and hopefully will never develop. She was a type 2 diabetic and had lost a leg to that disease. She also refused to take care of herself like she should.
The news made me take cold hard look at what I had been eating and adjust my diet to help combat the diseases progression. While stage3a cannot be cured, it can be managed. That’s what I’m fully focused on now, managing the disease to slow or stop its progression.
Like I said, I want to stick around for another twenty to thirty years, and I’d like to remain as healthy as humanly possible during the remaining years I have left. There are many more stories I want to write and share with my audience. More books searching for their unique voice I hope everyone will enjoy.
I’ve also changed the direction of the story I had been writing for the weekly writing challenge. Working with the scientific jargon for the story overshadowed the emotionally charged elements I was striving to impart. K is for Karst will be replaced with K is for Knucklebones. While the game has been around since the times of ancient Greece, I’m brining a ghostly twist that I hope everyone will enjoy. I may revisit the Karst in the future, but it wasn’t speaking to me on the same level knucklebones is.
Until Wednesday then.
Richard Schiver 