Health Conditions

I had a dream I had a kidney transplant

I was laying on a stretcher; blue gown and no pants

TMI? My bad. But the other thing I lacked

Was emotion. It seems that my tears were pushed back

Now reality sets. In the present day I’m facing

Two different scenarios. This choice I hate making;

Continue dialysis and live like this

Or do I sign my John Hancock on the list?

GIMMIE A MINUTUE. *sigh*

You see I’m tryna live a life that’s close to normal

One day deliver the news, lookin’ formal

It’s horrible but man the main reason that I’m in this

Is cause the meds from my last transplant finished

My kidneys. It’s nothing that I did B

So what’s to say the new meds won’t come attack me?

I mean I got this lupus that they haven’t found a cure for yet

Some days I’m livin’ good, some days I’m outta breath

All the health conditions are keeping me on the sidelines

And staying strong and getting by is such a fine line

The ones around you always wanna see you smilin’

When sometimes you just wanna be alone on an island

And let the seas take away the pain that you bare

You ask the Lord, “WHY IS THIS LIFE SO UNFAIR?!”

My eyes keep filling up with salty fluids

Right now all I can do is get used to it

All these hospital visits for the common flu

Affects me for weeks but just a few days for you

That’s true. My last virus lasted a month

Was clutching my belly like I had a baby bump

You can Laugh at My Pain, but this ain’t Kevin Hart

I’m forever a Guinea Pig. Where should I start?

I’m the ONLY person in the world living a life

With lupus and a heart transplant, which means I

Am the lab rat. The hospital’s ‘Product Tester’

I hope these future generations appreciate my gesture

Cause when I’m feeling sick with low blood pressure

I’m trapped inside my room and I can’t be pestered

I’m off topic, we were talkin’ bout organs

Right now they’re keeping me from worldwide touring

I was supposed to do LA this summer

Partake in the Transplant Games as a runner

Visit my Ontario fam with my Mother

Instead my health is holding me back; what a bummer

If I hear another person tell me once more,

“Your health comes first!” I SWEAR I’ll push em to the floor

Do you think that I’m stupid? Do you think I’m a fool?

This kidney failure made me miss my last year of school

There’s another graduating class I’ll never get to walk with

“You can always go back!” Eh, shut up with your talkin’

If I wanted advice, I would’ve asked

So please stop acting like you know about my past

If I’m listed and I get the call

Then I’m back where I started, no school in the fall

I’ll be working on my fitness doing rehab daily

Checkups and biopsy’s to delay me

Painkillers that’ll make me all hazy

On top of all my other stuff? That’s crazy

How the hell am I supposed to move ahead

When my future shows me standing in one place instead?

That’s the Mazankowski if you’re just tuning in

The Heart Institute that they built here in Edmonton

As I get older the age gap gets thin

It’s awkward when these nurses ask to see my bare skin

They know your friends cause they went to school with them

I’d rather deal with people with no relation

They keep saying, “Don’t give up hope!”
Who started the rumour I was giving up? NOPE.

Listen I’m allowed to have a bad day now and then

Lemme wallow in my sorrow for a while my friend

I’m coming out with new scars and water weight

I’m complicated. No wonder I can’t find a mate

Big portions; there’s too much on my plate

That’s an issue for another late night debate

I’m done for now, I think you get my position

It’s 5am, my thoughts were trapped in this prison

I’m thinking too much, but these thoughts have been written

So you can know the things in my life I’ve been missin’

I’ve already told my fam that they can forget

About donating a kidney, no that isn’t a step

That I’m willing to take. No we’ve suffered enough

Did you think I’d have them suffer the exact same stuff?

I love em too much. I don’t care if we match

I’ll be happy knowing that they didn’t have to get patched

And stitched up and sewn. I’ll leave your bodies alone.

This is just another step I gotta take on my own.

The Dunk On Disease Foundation Presents: DODGE THE DISEASE

THE DUNK ON DISEASE FOUNDATION IS BACK!!!

My Day at CTV Morning LIVE Edmonton

I’m back to my old ways.

On Friday, I was at CTV Edmonton talking about my time at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. As a good 98% of you know, I was there for a while with a Berlin Heart EXCOR device, or Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) because my hear t failed on me due to my lupus. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been there (over 3 years) but what brought about me talking about it was a tweet I sent to CTV Edmonton.

Right now, CTV is doing a "My Edmonton is . . . “campaign where people can either Facebook or tweet them about what makes Edmonton “theirs”. I decided one day to send:

@ctvedmonton @CTVMorningLive My Edmonton is The Stollery Children's Hospital. Without @TheStollery I wouldn't be here. #truestory #myyegis

Over twitter. CTV Morning Live anchor Rob Williams saw that and contacted me immediately. He wanted me to come on the show and talk about my experience! It’s been a while now since I've done public speaking about my condition and my time at the Stollery, so when he asked me to come in I was ecstatic. I remember watching Rob when he first started anchoring at CTV, so he’s someone I did and still do look up to. As 97% of you know, I’m currently at NAIT taking TV Broadcasting, so I pay attention to the news.

I asked Rob what I should wear, hoping he would say a suit. I recently bought a new one, and I’ll admit, I look good in it haha! As luck would have it, he told me to wear a suit and asked if after the interview I would stick around and help out! Again, SO STOKED. I would’ve graduated this year, but do to health problems; I’ll be finishing up THIS year. Can’t wait to get back into things.

Anyways, when I arrived on Friday, I was confident. I was in my fly suit, clean shaven (I held a mini poll online to see if I should keep the beard or look like a fetus when I go on. Fetus won.) When I arrived, Rob gave me these blue, funky-flowery socks. It matched my tie quite nicely. It might’ve given me even more confidence. I did my research about myself because I didn’t want to mess up this interview. APPARENTLY, Momma wasn’t happy with my last one, so she told me basically not to look like a fool this time hahaha!!  I was feeling good because a lot of my former classmates and friends from the program wither work there or are doing internships, so there were TONS of familiar faces. Jeannette LaBrie, my instructor at NAIT and CTV employee even woke up early to come watch me. That meant a lot to me.

The interview was a success! (Check the link below). Afterwards, Dez Melenka, the other CTV Morning Live Anchor told me to “pay attention to the weather. Cause you’ll be doing it!”

. . . Um . . . what?!

I thought she was kidding at first. In my head I was like, “Good one Dez.” But she was serious. Craig Larkins, the CTV Morning Live Weather Reporter confirmed it. Oh my gosh. It had been a while since I had practice with broadcasting and speaking on air, so I was afraid I was gonna choke. Craig briefed me quickly on what I should do before we went on. For a cold read, I think I did alright. I thought I was done, but then Melissa Dominelli, CTV Morning Live Traffic Reporter, said I’d be doing the traffic report.

. . . Um . . . huh?!

It’s like I was getting a demo tape together or something! I knew traffic was going to be harder, because how I get around the city isn’t by streets, but landmarks. Gotta work on that. But Melissa was very nice and briefed me on what to do before I went on. All in all, I had fun!

With Rob, I went out and he gave me the chance to ask some questions about the Special Olympics. I killed it with the ad-libbing haha. At the end of the show, I joined the whole cast on set and we said goodbye to the viewers. Such a humbling experience, I’m truly blessed, no lie.

Dez told me afterwards that I should come by, so I plan on taking her up on that.

Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRyAq7lvip4&feature=plcp

Thank you again Rob, Dez, Melissa, and Craig for such a great experience!

Take care & Much Love,

David The Recipient

Only a Couple Days til the Underwear Affair!

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