A Howdy from Ronnie Magnolia Springs.

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Howdy all....

Well it has been eight months now...actually closer to nine. Everything has been going along wonderfully. Gained a little weight since the transplant. Was at 172-3 after transplant...now at around 180-2. Not too bad. I have been able to enjoy all my old hobbies. Going metal detecting just about every weekend. You can see some of my finds and silly comments at www.thetreasuredepot.com and then pick the relics forum. I am The Mayor over there. I had forgotten my user name and password here but someone e-mailed me from this board tonight and I just kept trying till I got it. Gosh I sure miss talking to all ya'll. I don't miss the problems though. The only difference in my life now and before MPGN is that I take pills in the morning and at night.
I am breaking out in bumps on my face like I am a teenager again. Maybe I have reversed the aging process and now am headed in the other direction. Does anyone else have problems breaking out like I am? No big deal except the bumps are deep under my skin and hurt like the dickens for a few days. The transplant center suggested Clearasil. That DID make me feel like a teenager again.

Big BIG Hugs to everyone on here.
An extra hug to those special people that helped me through transplant. Have called and missed you several times Cheryl... Rik.hope you are doing fine bud.

The Mayor ...oops wrong forum
Ronnie Magnolia Springs, AL

[oldborris]

Hi Ronnie: delighted that you are doing so well post-transplant and even reversing the age trend. Now for that I do envy you. God! to be eight again and not nearly eighty.

But one thing has puzzled me ever since I came across your posts. Why does Magnolia spring with such avidity, such persistance, and such gay abandon, so careless of public opinion? Does she [for I assume that she is a she] do it in public and when? Can one get tickets for the manifestation? Does she ever go on tour and is she likely to visit the UK?

[Sueleic]

Hi Ronnie
Glad to hear you’re doing so well………………..how’s that grandchild of yours doing……
Hope you post again soon
Take care
Sue
In the UK
Xx

[Carolyn in CA]

Ronnie, I don't know if you saw my post, but Tony has been approved to give Richard a kidney and we have a 7/20/04 date.

I just want you to know that after I got the news on Friday, I pulled out all of your old posts from your transplant time and reread them. Although there is definately some "no fun" stuff there, it helps to know some of what to expect.

Thanks again - it sounds like you're doing really well. Hope your grandaughter is doing ok too.

Carolyn and Richard in CA

[Rachel in NY]

Hey Ronnie,

Great to hear from you again. Been thinking about you. Good luck on the relic hunting. ~Rachel

[JMan]

Nice to hear from you after all this time Ronnie.. Hmmm bumps and lumps.. only thing I can suggest is mebbe diet.. Tho someone from the chat swears by vodka (used on the skin, not drunk:))

Glad things are goin well...


From a windy night in London town...

[nycpetit]

I am slated for a transplant in july too..either the 15th or the 22nd (yea I get a choice...lol)...

HUGE question..weren't you the one who could NOT take prednisone??? What did they give you instead?? I want to know

and what side effects have you noticed the most....

I am terrified of the side effects of this medication...like completely terrified...like I'll have a potato head, acne, hair everywhere (I get it something terrible with prednisone which I have already done for 1.5 years and I am begging them to find some other alternative..they are out there...they just don't want to tell..) I get terrible panic attacks with prednisone, and the cyclo scares me..I already get hair overgrowth like mad with pred, to add cyclo seems unfair...and then the Prograf....

someone help me out here...I am going in to talk to a doctor after the first of July about all these fears..I have suffered already so much from the prednisone that I feel like I am going to start a nightmare all over again

thanks
Natalie

[Hal]

Hi Ronnie,

Glad to hear you are doing fine. Hope to join you in the MPGN transplant club sometime.

Hal

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

oldborris....

You would not believe it. I come home and there she is...right in front of my house in broad daylight. I go to bed and no matter how early I wake up..it is still going on! I have tried to wake up in the middle of the night to see if she ever stops. Nope...is there no shame left in the world?


Ronnie

Hi Ronnie: delighted that you are doing so well post-transplant and even reversing the age trend. Now for that I do envy you. God! to be eight again and not nearly eighty.

But one thing has puzzled me ever since I came across your posts. Why does Magnolia spring with such avidity, such persistance, and such gay abandon, so careless of public opinion? Does she [for I assume that she is a she] do it in public and when? Can one get tickets for the manifestation? Does she ever go on tour and is she likely to visit the UK?

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Sue...

Thank you for asking! Jessie is still paralyzed from waist down. They are getting her to stand up now with braces and crutches. The doctors say that is as good as she will ever get. She is a fighter though and is working very hard to get as well as she can. She was fourteen when the accident happened...she is now fifteen. She has her moments but on the whole she is a very happy young lady.

I will keep posting...I promise. I usually don't like this type of forum but I am getting used to using this form now. It is absolutely more functional once you get the swing of it.

Big Hugs
Ronnie

Hi Ronnie
Glad to hear you’re doing so well………………..how’s that grandchild of yours doing……
Hope you post again soon
Take care
Sue
In the UK
Xx

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Carolyn and Richard...

Don't worry a minute about what small inconveniences you may go through during and for a short spell after transplant. Believe me...It is worth it all worth to get where I am at. I feel wonderful every day. I have not had a sniffle, sneeze, cough or anything since transplant. I ran into a guy at UAB during one of my check up visits. He told me that he has had his transplant for five years. Out of the blue he asked me had I ever been sick since the transplant. I said no not at all. He said he teaches school in Oklahoma at a school on an Indian reservation. He is exposed to over 150 children every day and said he also had never had a cold cough fever or anything. He attributed it to the doses of sulphur that they keep us on at UAB. I don't know what it is but everyone in this house had the flu around the begining of the year and I never caught it. Don't worry about the transplant at all...it has become a relatively benign surgery and the meds have gotten very good in the past few years. Look forward to all the new foods Richard will again be able to eat and all the fun times that are ahead of ya'll after the transplant.

Best of luck to ya'll
Ronnie

Ronnie, I don't know if you saw my post, but Tony has been approved to give Richard a kidney and we have a 7/20/04 date.

I just want you to know that after I got the news on Friday, I pulled out all of your old posts from your transplant time and reread them. Although there is definately some "no fun" stuff there, it helps to know some of what to expect.

Thanks again - it sounds like you're doing really well. Hope your grandaughter is doing ok too.

Carolyn and Richard in CA

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Hey my sweet Rachael...

I think I have missed you most of all. I have been relic hunting a lot. Going this weekend to a site in North Alabama that I am real excited about
It could be the "Big One". If we hit the right spot...I will be posting from some tax friendly foreign nation. Preferably one that has beautiful beaches..not too hot and not too cold. A bar that serves drinks in those little glasses with the umbrella and you can sleep outside in a hammock. I''ll give ya' a ring from the airport. Gotta have dreams...don't we.
Hey e-mail me sometime if you don't see me on here. I worry about how you are doing sometimes...Take care.

Big BIG hugs to you Rachael..
Ronnie

Hey Ronnie,

Great to hear from you again. Been thinking about you. Good luck on the relic hunting. ~Rachel

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Jman...
I bet you are right. I don't know about vodka on the skin though. I used to enjoy a vodka martini so much that I am afraid that I would also buy vermouth and some olives just to see if they might help working from the inside out. This seems to come and go and I bet your suggestion is right on the money. Hope you are doing well Jman. Thank goodness you are still here helping spread information. I ALWAYS found you to have considerable knowledge on this kidney disease subject.

I will be back!
Take care bud...(In the Southern US dialect "Bud" means my good friend)
Ronnie

Nice to hear from you after all this time Ronnie.. Hmmm bumps and lumps.. only thing I can suggest is mebbe diet.. Tho someone from the chat swears by vodka (used on the skin, not drunk:))

Glad things are goin well...


From a windy night in London town...

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Natalie...

Prednisone gave me some problems in the very beginning. Ask them for something like Paxil, Attivan or any of the other drugs in that class to offset the Prednisone. I am not trying to suggest any type of medical treatment but I was having problems with the prenisone for the first couple of weeks. I finally showed up at the emergency room and declared I was going to commit suicide. Needless to say that got their attention. they gave me Attivan and twenty minutes later I felt normal for the first time in two weeks. Now I take a Paxil in the morning and an Attivan at night. Works perfectly for me and it slows down this hyper personality that I have always had. Much to the relief of my wife. They CAN find the combination of pills that will work for you. Make them keep trying until they find the right on. The meds scared me most of all before transpalnt and they have turned out to be just another little thing I have to remember twice a day. I feel great and have no side effects. Sleep off the first couple of weeks and you will be on the downhill side after that.

Email me anytime you want to ask a question or just need an ear.
Best of luck
Ronnie

I am slated for a transplant in july too..either the 15th or the 22nd (yea I get a choice...lol)...

HUGE question..weren't you the one who could NOT take prednisone??? What did they give you instead?? I want to know

and what side effects have you noticed the most....

I am terrified of the side effects of this medication...like completely terrified...like I'll have a potato head, acne, hair everywhere (I get it something terrible with prednisone which I have already done for 1.5 years and I am begging them to find some other alternative..they are out there...they just don't want to tell..) I get terrible panic attacks with prednisone, and the cyclo scares me..I already get hair overgrowth like mad with pred, to add cyclo seems unfair...and then the Prograf....

someone help me out here...I am going in to talk to a doctor after the first of July about all these fears..I have suffered already so much from the prednisone that I feel like I am going to start a nightmare all over again

thanks
Natalie

[Ronnie Magnolia Springs]

Hal..

Aren't they waiting for you to progress a little more?
Are you on dialysis now? I promise to part of the "Welcome Aboard" committee when you join the club...

Ronnie

Hi Ronnie,

Glad to hear you are doing fine. Hope to join you in the MPGN transplant club sometime.

Hal