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Rustic Soul Design, Metairie, LA (2026)

10/20/2025

Update: I’m still doing dialysis 3 days a week, and still hope to find a kidney donor!

07/16/2024

Health Update:

Dear family and friends, my life has been forever changed…
After a few days of having nausea, fatigue, and loss of appetite, I made a reluctant trip to the emergency department at Ochsner Hospital. I truly thought it was probably just a stomach bug, definitely nothing serious. After a slew of blood test, I was told it was kidney failure. I later would learn it was end-stage renal disease, and my only options were dialysis and kidney transplant.
Before this happened, I honestly never spent much time thinking about my kidneys. The kidneys filter your blood by removing waste and extra water to make urine. The best way to know how well your kidneys are filtering the blood is to look at your estimated glomerular filtration rate. Your eGFR is calculated using your blood, creatinine, age, and s*x. It can also be calculated using your cystatin c level instead of, or in addition to, your (blood) serum creatinine level.
An eGFR value lower than 60 is a sign that your kidneys may not be working properly. An eGFR lower than 15 is a marker of kidney failure.
Well, my (eGFR) at that time was 3. That may be TMI, but I’ve gotten a lot of questions about that!
Anyway, that was the beginning of my lengthy stay in the hospital. I have since been released from the hospital, lost over 30 pounds, been placed on 12 medications, receive dialysis 3 days a week, had a temporary dialysis access port placed and later removed in my neck, a CVC access port placed in my chest, and this week had surgery for my AV fistula which will be my new hemodialysis access point. I have been referred for the transplant waiting list and just finished my transplant evaluation. It has been a lot, and there is still a long road ahead… More to come!

For those who have asked about info on being a living donor, my blood type is O Positive.