Tag: Kidney Disease

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Weight Loss Exercise

Where did my emotions go?



This is only a little bit about fitness and health, maybe not much. I have had a crazy last few months and I am not sure where it all leads but one thing that I have really noticed over the last few months is that I seem to have been repressing lots of feelings and have pushed down my emotions.

I know that this is likely unhealthy

I think this really started a couple or three years ago when I started struggling with panic attacks and with the help of a bit of Luvox I was able to crawl out of the fear and panic. Whew, snuck by that one…

Then we buy a house in the suburbs, and I am set. A wife, two kids, a minivan, a dog and cat and the Canadian dream apparently.

My sick kid comes next

I have written a bit about my daughter with her kidney disease. When we first found out about the kidney disease we didn’t know anything about the journey ahead of us but the whole family fell apart in fear, uncertainty, and doubt. When this happened I knew I had to stay strong and so I took emotions out of the picture and I worked toward making sure I would be able to do whatever needed to give my daughter a kidney.

Over the last year we seem to also be hitting all sorts of terrible money issues, regular family issues, and even a boy down the street getting cancer. I know that this does not all seem to be abnormal, we all have stresses in our lives and problems but yesterday I realized this might now be a problem.

Uh oh, Maybe I have a problem…

Where did my emotions go?So a couple weeks ago I met with the transplant doctor and he approved me for transplanting a kidney to my daughter as soon as her kidney level drops to 15% (probably in a few months) and he also found a spot on my lung in an xray that he suspects is not cancerous and is sending me for another chest xray in 4 months. Trouble is that I was not as excited as I should be about the kidney, and not at all worried about the spot on my lung.

That can’t be a good reaction.

And then yesterday the little boy down the street died of his cancer and although I feel terrible for his family and there was a lot of tears shed in my house, none were mine.

I am watching Biggest Loser tonight with my wife and daughter and they noticed that the guy on the Blue team, David, was really repressing his feelings and feeling like he was responsible for everyone around him instead of letting others help. My wife and daughter looked at me and said, hey just like you!

So here I am as a writer of a super popular fitness and health blog and I still don’t have it all together. This may or may not be a cry for help but I am betting that I am not the only one around that has these feelings.

So guys, help a guy out. I may seem to have it all together but how do I get my feelings back? How do I let go of control?

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Exercise And Asthma



My daughter, you know the one with the kidney disease? Well she also has Asthma and when she was first diagnosed we were bery confused. We had no idea if this was something that would get worse or if Asthma was a problem that got better with time.

Well Fortunately Taylors Asthma has gotten better over the years and she does not need a puffer almost at all anymore. But what about Asthma and exercise. Can she run and exercise? Usually Taylor is fine but we still make sure she has the puffers with her in case she loses her breath running.

If you suffer from asthma, you probably think that you can’t exercise properly or safely. Contrary to what many think of this subject, there are ways that you can get in shape and exercise, even if you suffer from asthma.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that is marked by characteristics such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Asthma tends to occur with people who are genetically or environmentally presdisposed to the condition.

Some of the triggers that may start or make an attack worse include exposure to allergens, viral respiratory infections, airway irritants, exercise, and exposure to things such as dust mites or cockroaches.

Common Ways to Prevent Asthma

You can prevent asthma attacks by doing the following:
1. Bathe your pets weekly.
2. Don’t smoke or permit smoking in your home.
3. When mold or pollen counts are high, you should stay inside with air conditioning.
4. Wash your bedding and any stuffed toys at least once per week in hot water.
5. Wash your hands every chance you get.
6. Get a flu shot.
7. Wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in the winter months.
8. Be proactive and know your triggers and how you should avoid them.

Exercise and Asthma

Exercise And Asthma

Exercise and Asthma

Now that you know what you know about asthma, you may be wondering where exercise fits in. As most doctors will tell you, you shouldn’t give up on sports or exercise at all. You just have to be smart about how you play and take special precautions to avoid attacks.

Almost all doctors agree that the best way to prevent attacks during exercise is to keep your inhaler and medication close by. You should never use the inhaler more than 3 times during a game or exercise session. If you are up the previous night with coughing and wheezing, it’s always best to go light with your exercise the next day.

For something known as IEA (Exercise Induced Asthma), the symptoms are somewhat different, in the fact that they appear after 6 – 10 minutes of exercise and will often be worse in cold or dry air.

If you have IEA, there are several activities that you can enjoy such as swimming, walking, biking, downhill skiing, and team based sports. There are many activities for you to choose from, to ensure you get the exercise you need as well.

Keep in mind that the condition of asthma isn’t “all in your head”, it is a real physiological medical treatment that will require treatment to prevent and treat. Even though your doctor will be your best friend in treating asthma, you are the one who can prevent your symptoms.

Always be smart, take your medication, and be proactive. Don’t let it put you in a life of misery – as you can enjoy exercise just like everyone else.

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Crossmatch Day




My daughter and I went to the hospital today for blood tests. Not an uncommon occurance for my daughter who gets tested monthly but I don’t have quite as much experience.

But today is a special day for us.

My daughters kidneys have been stable at 27-30% GFR for the last couple months but we all know that her nephronophthisis that my wife and I gave her through a couple bad genes is going to lead to kidney failure likely within a year.

After all the tests that I have gone through to test my health and especially my kidney health and output I have finally been deemed a good candidate if…. if… my blood is a good match with Taylors.

Taylor and Billy doing a Crossmatch

So today Taylor and I drove down to the hospital and each of us had a few vials of blood taken and then after this the transplant people will mix them together. We are both O Positive but for my kidney to be transplanted we need to do this crossmatch to find out if the mix of our blood is going to be a problem for a transplant.


If the crossmatch determines that we are a good match still then we wait and continue to let Taylor’s kidney function to drop further to about 15% and then we can get a transplant done.

Right now Taylor, at 30% kidney function is still a healthy and somewhat active kid. She plays, she runs around laughing, and fights with her brother, but she does get tired and misses school as well. The trouble with kidney disease in kids is that it often does not outwardly manifest but in Taylors case she does get tired and sick way more often then her brother does.

Yesterday our son Jaiden got blood tests done to check how his Creatinine levels are. Since we know that my wife and I are carriers for these bad genes we also know that each kid has a 25% chance to get the kidney disease that Taylor has so we are quietly holding our breath that Jaiden is good.

So always more drama around our house but as time goes on the murky picture of family health is getting a bit clearer