Back Pain and Telling

That's my latest symptom. It doesn't bother me much, but today, on a plane (returning from a conference) it was persistent. It's a dull aching pain, but I have had shooting pain in the past. Overall, it's not that bad. If it goes on for long, however, I do get irritated. By the time I got to baggage claim, it was nearly gone. maybe it was the 4.5 hours of sitting?

Otherwise, I had to tell a few people about the upcoming transplant. I was planning to take over some chair duties on a committee, but I don't think it would be right to do that and then miss 2+ months of work during the year. People are pretty darn cool when they hear about it. I think it's most interesting to see how they react. Usually the older people react more thoughtfully and the younger ones (under 40) are kind of chill. Like maybe it isn't very real to them -- I suppose they just aren't old enough to have experienced health problems or people around them with health problems. I wonder sometimes if I should be telling people at all. Maybe I should just keep quiet about it. It probably makes them uncomfortable, and sometimes I feel like they might think I'm looking for attention. I try to influence their reactions with a lighthearted comment and maybe even a joke about it, but that probably makes them uncomfortable, too. The reason I say anything is that 1) they need to know that I'll be absent for some time from the professional world and 2) I think it's better for all transplant patients to talk about it because more people need to see us as survivors. Especially PKD. It's so prevalent and yet people don't know about it! Also, they need to know that they could save a life by donating a kidney. Imagine if only 1 of all of the people I talk to about kidney transplant gives a kidney? What if I tell more and more people and 2 decide to donate a kidney? Maybe I can make a difference. Here is some information from the PKD Cure website:

"Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common, life-threatening genetic diseases, effecting 600,000 Americans and 12.5 million people, worldwide. ADPKD affects more people than Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and sickle cell anemia combined."