My 2021 transplantiversary marks the TENTH year of my transplant! It feels like a real achievement, and I feel like I should get it a gift to commemorate the day we met.

I was trying to work out what happened to last year’s celebration, but then I remembered I had a stroke last September and was busy freaking out about not being able to string a sentence together to save my life.

So no doubting the situation is better this year!

The Kidney

Weirdly enough, it’s stable.

Possibly as I’ve slimmed down a bit, got fitter and increased my endurance. Mainly through taking Clever Girl for walks, but also eating better and getting more sleep.

I still have problems with sodium (salt) – it’s my kryptonite. I love salty Asian food, and would rather eat a bag of chips than a cake… But I’m snacking less, so it’s not all bad.

The Body

The body is not doing too badly either, though I’m dying for a haircut. Post Covid has made hair appointments as rare as hen’s teeth and I haven’t been able to get in any earlier than December – at least I’ll be good for Christmas!

My skin has become more sensitive the longer I’ve been taking the immune suppression, so I need to look for another sunscreen, and get into the routine of applying it more frequently.

And now that my voice came back, and I’m better at focusing, I think it might be time to rethink my presence.

The Work

I’ve written a lot, and published these new books:

• The Histories of Hayward Hall
• Common or Garden Variety Heroes
• Planning a Life Worth Living
• Case Files of the Wilkinson National Detective Agency
• Unavoidable Fates

Which looks like a lot, though looking back, doesn’t seem like much.

And some of my older short stories too:

• Lovelorn, Lovestruck and Love at First Sight (the stories and the collection)
• The Pseudonym’s Bride
• Shadow Thieves
• Waylon’s Way

So I’m pretty proud of that.

The Verdict

I’m going to go ahead and say that despite the early signs, the 2021 Transplantiversary, my tenth, marks my most successful year to date.

Have you considered being an organ donor?

You can find my monthly reports and other planning related information on the Life Worth Living page.