By Miriam Lippel Blum
Here are the CKD related blogs updated since my update on 6/27. If you have or know of a blog that should be on the list let Bill know. Comments in parentheses are my reactions or opinions.
- Dialysis from the sharp end of the needle has a blog report.
- Kamal Shah's Blog Kamal is totally addicted to FaceBook despite the irrelevant information he gets on it.(I confess to taking too many of those silly quizzes. )
- Toastiest His 13-year old cat is sick, wonders if this may be the end and if delaying taking the cat to the emergency vet is irresponsible.
- Hasten down the wire critiques the NYT coverage of Michael Jackson's death.
- Becky Perry is feeling low and vulnerable, wonders whether it's okay to reveal that side of her in her blog (Yes, it's okay and we all feel that way sometimes.); posts a peek into the first chapter of a book by Linda Massey, How To Raise a Modern Day Joseph; reviews Mom Needs Chocolate by Debora M. Coty.(I'm not a Mom but I definitely need chocolate, too.)
- The Adventures of Stacy Without An E Stacy's sister, Amy, comes to visit which cheers him up immensely and he shows her the town. (Sisters are indeed powerful.)
- Life on dialysis ... and now life after my transplant! is excited about taking her first train trip by herself to a donor family event.
- On the Road to a Cure Human Genome Sciences (HGS) reports continuation data from a Phase II study of BENLYSTA™ (belimumab, formerly LymphoStat-B®) showing sustained improvement in patients with active systemic lupus after four years of treatment.
- The Daily Dialysis is a new blog. Bonni, caregiver to husband, Mark, who has just started in-center HD, is feeling cautiously optimistic as he continues to feel better, hopes he can get an earlier time slot as they don't get home till well after 11pm.
- I Am. Are you? has photos from a Donate Life Illinois event at a Kenny Chesney concert.
- Chronic Chick Talk posts a Madonna video for Music Monday.
- Lupus and Humor finally signs up to take a long desired class on writing one-(wo)man shows, because "if you don't learn anything else from having a stroke and kidney failure, you learn that you only live once." (Bravo, Carla!)
- Bud's Ramblings did well on dialysis yesterday, is now enjoying watching the birds from his front porch.
- Disability Prejudice And Civil Rights Watch Alison sharply critiques the hospital that violated her civil rights and abused her in multiple ways; Catholic hospitals told her being a lesbian was a mental illness; discusses the excuses professionals and family members make to justify abusive behavior towards people labeled with psychiatric problem; wakes up from a nightmare and reflects on the traumas and injustice in her town and the world; decries the fact that when people are involuntarily detained in an ER in Virginia no one asks if they have any pets at home that might need care. (That is a very important problem that should be addressed. Maybe the Humane Society or the ASPCA can help lobby for this to be changed.)
- Precious Bodily Fluids describes a patient who missed three weeks of dialysis during the month; summarizes the history of dietary sugar and fructose as presented in The Sugar Fix, chapter 2; presents his philosophy of consult nephrology; links to a page with excellent tips for doing searches on PubMed.
- Renal Fellow Network describes the importance of Acanthocytes (ring-shaped Red Blood Cells (RBC) with blebs of membrane coming off--sometimes described as RBCs with "Mickey Mouse ears") as the best predictor of glomerular disease compared to all other dysmorphic RBC types; the problem with using eosinophiluria to diagnose Acute Interstitial Nephritis.
- Uremic Frost reports a horrendous incident wherein a cab driver abandons a frail, elderly dialysis patient by the side of the road in 97 degree weather; links to a very eye-opening article about DaVita's strong arm tactics to destroy competition and protect its profits; a scary video about the kidney stones in Chinese children who drank melamine tainted milk.
- Renal tsar's blog has a link to the business rules for the new CKD domain of the Quality and Outcomes Framework that have now been published.
- Neophron's Senescence loves his old Porsche; links to a presentation that makes a case for single payer insurance,
- Lemonade and Kidneys Her lab results show another drastic drop in kidney function, she's glad she has disability insurance.
- Mid-life ramblings Her daughter is visiting from Utah and family dinners are planned, dialysis access is progressing well, looks forward to getting her NxStage home.
- The inner game of PKD discusses evaluating and confronting fears. (Very relevant and practical advice here.)
- Mushroom's Blog has a lovely photo of Mushroom holding his grandchildren.
- Nephrosphere links to a report that Cinacalcet might be associated with leukocytoclastic vasculitis.
- My Damn Kidneys Transplant is scheduled for July 27 and they are gearing up their support network, will be starting a new blog "My New (Transplanted) Kidney Journey. (We wish you the best and hope for more good news in your new blog.)
- DailyHemo - Home Dialysis Advocates New Videos: Bundling for ESRD Patients; Nephrology Practice in an Economic Downturn.
- Berns on Nephrology Will bundling create disincentives for home hemodialysis?
- Encompass Network Partners has gotten good press and wants contact from their readers.
- Renal BizBlog The renal community could get its first look at the ESRD bundled payment system in July, according to information on a government Web site that lists federal regulatory information.
- The Renal Unit Latest renal tweets, news, and blogs.
MIRIAM'S WEBSURFING FIND: Tiffany Christensen is a two-time lung transplant recipient who has struggled with chronic illness all of her life. She has a blog called "sick girl speaks" that recently spawned a book. But what I happened upon was a blog post by her entitled "The Ten Opportunities of Illness."
It provided a perspective shift that I appreciated and thought worthy of sharing. Here's a quote:
While we must acknowledge the feelings of loss and frustration that
inevitably accompany illness, we may also open up to the opportunities
of growth, understanding, and gratitude that illness can provide.
She then goes on to list what she considers the "gifts" that an illness experience can bring and comments on each one. I found it uplifting and a different way of looking at and coping with my challenges. I hope you will find it so, as well.
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