GB Transplant Games 2010

Well it's the GB transplant Games this weekend, it actually started yesterday Thursday with the opening ceremony in Bath City Center, Last year it took place in Coventry where I believe there were over 600 competitors, children and adults all of whom have had an Organ transplant; with 1000 plus spectators.

The first of Transplant Games were held in 1978 in Portsmouth, UK with just 100 competitors and has taken place Annually ever since and hopefully will keep growing. from these games will be chosen a team to represent GB in the world Games.
My event is the 140metre Kayak sprint which is taking place tomorrow morning ( Sat 21st ) I was going up today so I can watch other events, and meet other people, well that was the plan until I was about to leave and felt a rumble in the jungle, so I'm hoping it will be OK tomorrow. I don't want to go without any food because that'll be disastrous for the event so fingers crossed; I'm going to say I'm beginning to get well hacked off with it, so gonna try and get in to see the doc today, again!!! and demand something be done.
I hope when I get to do the event they don't turn me away as my leg is still in plaster, but nothing been said to me so far,  but you never know, (health and safety), but then I did the 26mile on the Thames. They'll have to drag me screaming and shouting before I give up lol.

Here is a video Andrew Boyle a young 12 year old boy From Widness who's competing this year in the Games Click HERE

Kidney Checkup

Well yesterday it was that time again, "It's that time again!!" every three months to get the usual blood tests, weight check, blood pressure and a chat. Had someone different this time, don't generally like that, you tend to build up a relationship and a re pour with a doctor; and when I see someone different some of the trust goes because they don't  know you and sometimes you have to go through your past again.

I'm pretty intuitive and can pick up straight away if someone is really interested in you or your just another number in there daily routine. Believe it or not even though the doctors all learn the same material in their respective fields they often have different remedies and ways of dealing with a patient "go Figure" thank god!!!
For instance on a lighter note during my stay in hospital, during transplants I had bouts of constipation lol, now, I was getting it from both ends, remedies I mean, and nothing was really working then one morning during the rounds I had about 6 surgeons and doctors around my bed, it was mentioned that I was still having troubles, lets bear in mind here, first, that I was having things pushed up northwards every once and awhile and ingesting fluid allot during the day,,,

 "How shall we sort this problem!" this surgeon said, wait for it...  
    "Give him 4 in an hour"  then in unison me and the nurse shouted 
"FOUR!!!!!" ha ha laughing I said
     "your joking, I can't keep one up for five minutes" we all started laughing and he changed his mind.


 I had excellent doctors and surgeons  apart from two, one made a hatchet of a dressing one day, and another scared me to death by treating me as an object to his students, not even an hello, goodbye or any explanation to what he was doing. might be a slight exaggeration


One time I came back to the ward because of an infection, so they put me in a room of my own. I naturally went to a kidney ward, settled in, spoke to a few nurses and doctors that I knew and then in walked a doctor I'd never seen... 


"Hello my name is doctor... you look dehydrated" as he perused my file, clever I thought. Then he said      "you may have Kidney Problems, have you had problems before" oh Jesus I thought now does he mean with the transplanted kidney or... so I said something like...


    "no not since the transplant" and he replied 
" you've had a transplant have you, oh I am sorry let me go away and read your notes"

I couldn't believe it, where am I, is it me, am I dreaming, Jesus!!!! Help!!!! lol, let me out!!!, I've got quite a few like that so you see why I get a bit apprehensive when I see someone different.

Everything was good, Kidney is working fine blood pressure very good. Apart from his remark saying, my kidney is old, what do you call mean old, it's only 3 1/2 years, old!!!  old my backside.

Giorgia Fumanti - Espiritu

Just a couple of songs I like. I first heard Espiritu when It was sung by Thomas Otten, but this is much more pleasing to the eye.

Stomach calming down I think

The past couple of months I had tests to see why, to put it nicely, I've had a upset stomach. They all came back, "nothing wrong", well I can tell you there was. so that was it really sort of left on my own to sort it out, so I tried to find out if it was certain foods, I cut out all dairy, bread, pasta even stopped eating chicken as I thought that was where I may of caught a bug from, so whats left, veg and fruit right.... so that led me onto the raw diet, it's good but very hard, and not the answer as all that veg didn't help but if I was to believe what the raw foodists say this is a result of years of a bad diet being flushed out of my system.

I never really ate a bad diet, i.e processed foods. I'm a Diabetic all I really ate that would be considered bad by the raw group would be pasta, chicken, wholemeal bread, rice. I can understand the chicken aspect both morally and nutrition wise, and haven't eating chicken since, apart from the other day. Maybe I'll talk more on the raw diet another time, because at this moment  I can't keep to it, I'm eating eggs and rice and have started to eat some cheese again, incidentally my cholesterol level is 3.1 and has always been this low.

One of the reasons I have started incorporating some cheese is my stomach issues, touch wood is settling down. This may be a coincidence but five days ago I started taking some enzymes, something called Regulat, which is fermented fresh fruits, veg and nuts. I did a lot of reading into enzymes and on the way also noticed that water or lack of it can also cause Diarrhea, bit of a mine field really, it all boils down to trial and error and finding out what works for you but certain things rang a bell with me especially being a diabetic.
Below is just one of the clips I found on you tube.




I hope this works as up till now I'm not absorbing the nutrients from the food I eat, so not getting the calories I need. I'll gradually bring back in some of my normal foods with the addition of what I've learnt in respect of the Raw nutrition and more water.
If I get cravings for certain foods then I'll probably have it, to me that's my body telling me it is lacking in something it needs, now I'm not talking about cream cakes, chocolate etc, for example yesterday I had fish and chips, the other day chicken, I know I need more protein at the moment, I try and eat Organic where possible simply because I don't want all the Anti depressants and Antibiotics etc that's pushed into the food chain.
Some of you may think that it's a bit extreme maybe your right but at the moment apart from the stomach issue I do feel better for it....
Training is going well, I have to keep doing this because it dosen't take long before things to get out of control, and start feeling weak if I don't do something, this is probably due to the result of previous surgery, but I enjoy it and always have.......

Oxford results.

Well it's as I expected, the long and short of it is, because of previous surgery it is a technically difficult operation to perform but not impossible, if I decided to go ahead the chances of surviving the operation are very low, they may even stop the procedure during the surgery.
If I did make it through, because of the circulation issues I may lose both legs and my transplanted kidney, amongst others. As he didn't expect me to look so healthy the wise decision would be to not go ahead. This was said after I had given him an idea that I wasn't really 100% committed, He was very good about it and I think slightly relieved at my decision. If in the future things deteriorated the option is always there.

So now that's sorted on with the challenge in hand, It's no good dwelling on it and bringing myself down.

Oxford transplant visit

It's been awhile since last on here, really watching my food intake, protein levels and carbs.
Getting allot more essential Fatty acids and eating more raw. This happened pretty quick, mainly because of the bug I got a few months ago; I assuming it's a bug. It's very hard sticking to this way of eating and getting enough calories and being a diabetic, getting on the water has been hard also because of this, but I'll get there.

Off this morning to see the Oxford transplant team. Last time I saw them, they suggested that there would not be a problem performing the Pancreas transplant, just may take slightly longer because of the previous operations.
A month ago I received a call from the Transplant coordinator saying that they may not be able to perform the Transplant,  to difficult and dangerous for me, so they would like to talk to me. I know what there going to ask.
I do not want to go through, in any way what so ever, anything like the complications that surfaced before. So if the decision is left to me I won't decide there and then, I know some people will be thinking if it was me and I had a chance of a knew Pancreas I wouldn't hesitate, but at what cost? all sorts of problems arose before, My bowel was nicked, my Aorta burst, I was drip fed for months, I know people go through worse, but How long will it last it's not for ever, It could be but it may not. I just don't think I could physically and mentally do it again, and there's my family to think of first and for most, when it came down to it before, I was more concerned about leaving them behind, maybe that's what pulled me through, not sure and at this moment I don't want to remember that far in........