One year later, still living gratefully

No, this isn’t an ad for “Freshco” as one might otherwise be led to believe. 

It’s a photo of me in the parking lot of a suburban Toronto supermarket chain having gratefully received the third Pfizer COVID vaccine now being recommended for transplant recipients. 

My gratitude meter is dialed up even further because September 24th, 2021 marks the 1st year anniversary of my kidney transplant (aka “the transplant-aversary” as my wife Shelly refers to this miracle.)   And, coincidentally, this week also marks “World Gratitude Day” on September 21st.  

Despite the chaos we’ve all lived through over the past year, the above events call upon us to shift our focus to one of gratefulness for the many gifts “implanted” in our lives.  Some of the gifts of gratitude I’m able to highlight include:

• Grateful to live in Canada.

• Grateful to have access to COVID vaccines.

• Grateful to have a supportive healthcare system.

• Grateful to have a devoted spouse who has made many sacrifices to safeguard my health and act as my strongest advocate. 

• Grateful there are long-term treatments available to those who suffer from chronic kidney disease.

• Grateful to my donor and the many individuals who are able and willing to consider donating a living kidney.

A close friend sent me a link to a blog entry entitled “Living Gratefully Through Sharing a Kidney” on the blogsite “Gratefulness.org”.  It documents the journey of a kidney transplant donor and how his life is “fuller and deeper”, how he has “lost nothing and gained so much”.  I invite you to read it.