About
My name is Jeff, and I was born in 1963. I married Jackie in 1990 after we met in a psychiatric hospital (we both worked there). Kevin is our teen-aged son.
RN since 1989. I currently work as a Medical Home Case Manager in a very busy primary care clinic.
Dog lover. We have 3 dogs: Digger (GoldenDoodle). Chloe (Lab/Weimeraner), and the newest addition, my son’s Pit Bull Titan.
Hobbies: genealogy (main areas of research are Scotland, England, Ireland, and Northeastern Pennsylvania), computers, listening to music (Celtic, Rock, Classical; my current favorites are Enter The Haggis, The Screaming Orphans and Flogging Molly), and following news and politics (I’m a Libertarian but registered Republican, as Pennsylvania doesn’t allow cross-party voting in the primary).
I have 2 major chronic illnesses: Polycystic Kidney Disease and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (a form of muscular dystrophy). I’ve also had gastric bypass surgery successfully (I’m 200 lbs less than my pre-op weight from January 2002), and most recently received a kidney transplant on May 3, 2008 at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA. Thank you donor and donor family!
Philosophy: Chronic illness is all in what you make it; it is what it is, and I won’t let it limit what I do…
Feel free to send me an email: jsheridan81 at gmail dot com
Hi! I tried to send you an email, but your link to your email address doesn’t work. I love your blog and lab table. I just received a kidney transplant on 7/5/08. I would like to ask you a few questions if you could email me or fix the link to your email address so I can email you.
Thanks!!!
Donnia
The email isn’t a link, it’s a graphic, so you have to enter it in manually. This was done to prevent spambots from getting the address.
Check your email.
Hi:) I came across your post with the random blog-search. I just wanted to leave a note, saying I find it incredible what you do. Even more so because you’re strong. You have my full admiration. Keep on keeping on. Take care.
Jeff,
Thanks for your comment on my blog. I like your blog title, a good start for a book perhaps. You are a fighter like Armstrong and a very good writer.
Mick
Thanks Mick. My “political” blog is at http://bohicaville.wordpress.com/. Check it out when you get a chance.
Hi, Jeff!
I just saw your blog.
Have you checked out HopeSquare at
http://www.hopesquare. org ?
Perhaps we can “meet” there!
Peace!
That’s
http://www.hopesquare.org
I like your blog very much. I am 4 weeks out from transplant and it helps to read your posts of those days. My stent comes out in 3 weeks, how difficult will it be? I;d like too read aboute keeping positive attitude but didn’t find it. Is it at thee old site?
thanks, Gayle
Gayle,
Congratulations! I hope the kidney is working well.
The stent removal was not bad a all. It took less than 5 minutes for me. The doctor inserts the scope, pulls out the stent, and you’re done.
I do have quite a bit of content at LiveJournal; most of it was from before and during dialysis. Keep us posted.
Jeff
Thank you, that is reassuring about the stent. Like you I lock onto numbers, the surgeon said take it out in 6 wks., the nephrologist said 4-6 wks. and it could get infected. I’m set for week 7, so I started to fret about infection and if it will hurt etc. I am learning lots from your blog, thank you!
Hi Jeff, your blogs are very inspiring to me and hit very close to home since I had a kidney transplant in summer 2006. I hope your sister feels better soon! My thoughts are with you both.
Natalie Curry
Thanks Natalie.
I’m still amazed at how much better I feel after the transplant; I’m getting more things done this past year than probably the previous 5 years.
Hope your kidney is working well. Thanks for reading my blog.
Hi Jeff…adding you to our blog roll as well. big hugs & Health Destiny & Derek
Jeff,
I am a nurse too. I have PKD. GFR above 60 and creatinine 1.0. My nephrologist prescribes Vit. D 50,000 IU per week. I say that is too high. My level was 67 so she reduced it to 50,000 IU every week skipping one week a month. I am nauseated and constipated. Toxicity? I’m putting a call thru to neph’s office.
Jessica
Jessica,
Thanks for posting.
Check your email.
For those looking for Vitamin D info, check this out: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
Jeff
Dear Jeff,
I happen to come to your website googling for side effects of prograf. I had a new kidney 3 years back. Doing good since then.
You have a really inspiring site. Wish you best for years & years to come.
-A
Thanks. I hope you’re doing well. The only thing bothersome for me with Prograf is hand tremors. It’s very noticeable within 1-2 hours, but fades as the day goes on. Good luck, and I hope we’re able to stay off dialysis!
Jeff, just found your blog and I have found it very informative and uplifting. I am 42 and have pkd. It has not yet progressed to the point on needing dialysis. Currently my creatinine level is around 1.6.
Having just finished reading your blog I have a new attitude concerning this disease and do not dread the future as much as I did. The main message I get from your experience is life does continues after a transplant and can actually improve. Best of luck and I will continue to follow your blog.
Thanks
Mark
Great site, thanks. It’s nice to have your insight into the labs. The numbers come and the numbers go and they get fuzzy over time. It’s been 20 years since diagnosis, 3 years since dialysis and 1 year since transplant. I did 13 years with one lousy kidney, and 1 year with no kidneys. Until transplant I had no idea how bad I felt. Best of luck to all! Dialysis and transplant are truly modern miracles.
Same with me; the transplant made me realize how poorly I felt as my kidneys went bad. Now, if only my appetite would decrease instead of increase!
HI, I had a VERY BAD reaction (late March 2012) to a medication which sent me into RENAL failure…a friend on another site shared your site with me. Thank you for the info.