It’s Saturday night. SNL is a rerun. So I’m playing back some “Happy Days” episodes from one of my streaming services. I had kind of forgotten about the auto-record I did, and so I have 36 “Happy Days” episodes in the vault. (I’ll probably watch one or two more episodes and trash the rest…I’ve seen every episode a couple hundred times.)
The first episode that popped up this evening was “Fonzie’s Blindness.”
As I watched Fonzie’s bout with temporary blindness, caused by Big Al hitting him in the head with an extremely flimsy tray, I was reminded of the challenges I have faced with my kidneys. Like Fonz, I started out feeling like I could handle a substantial change in my life. With Fonzie, it was blindness; with me, it was dialysis three times a week. Like Fonz, I became discouraged and felt frustrated by the hand I had been dealt.
And like Fonz…I had a happy ending.
Milwaukee’s coolest resident went to one of his regular ocular treatments, and his vision began to come back.
In my case, it was more of a gradual change. First, they cut my dialysis treatments from three times a week to twice weekly. I went to Denver to begin the kidney transplant process and the labs they took that day showed that my kidneys were improving substantially. Not long after that I was put on a “dialysis holiday.” It’s been about three months since my “holiday” started. I am officially no longer a nephrology patient. I get labs done every two weeks to make sure everything is hunky dory.
A moment ago I said that Fonzie and I both had a happy ending. That’s not entirely true. Fonzie’s happy ending, in the grand sitcom tradition, is permanent. My happy ending is really a happy interlude, because my kidneys could go south again anytime. There are two things I’m doing with this fact in mind: One, I’m trying to be a good patient. I try to keep myself to 32 ounces of liquid a day. (That is harder than I thought it would be!) I avoid “dark pop” because the phosphoric acid is bad news for the kidneys. (Okay, being honest here, I have a Coke like once a month. Don’t judge me.)
The other thing I’m doing is getting out and enjoying life. Since my “holiday” began in late January, I’ve seen Journey and Toto live in Rapid City. I’ve taken my first trip to Las Vegas since 2019, filled with amazing live entertainment and underwhelming slot machine results. I spent a weekend in Denver with friends seeing a Denver Nuggets basketball game, a Jon Lovitz stand-up show and an escape room. In May I’m spending a few days In Nashville with my old pal Dustin Harris. In July Dangerous Dave and I are seeing Billy Joel live in concert at Coors Field. And sometime this summer I’ll spend a few days with Sister Jo, nephew Seamus, Alfie and Lady Bird. (Those last two are dogs.)
If that seems like a fairly busy social calendar, well..it’s sort of two things in one: Making up for lost time, and striking while the iron is hot. I know how lucky I am to have this period of health. I’d like to think it will last a good long time, but the pragmatic in me feels like this coupon has an expiration date.
And if that’s the case…well, I will try to accept it and find ways to be happy. 2023, for all its imperfections, had some pretty fun moments.