Mother's Day in Marlton, NJ - Kidney Clinic - Happy 150th to Poet R. Tagore

After Kidney Clink, I waited for Kevin to deliver my car to me. I met this gentleman, George Hanlon, who was at Einstein so his dentist daughter, who works in the Dental Clinic, could work on his teeth. His oldest daughter is a surgeon at Yale.

Since he had a Father Judge jacket on, I said to him,

I had a dear friend who graduated from Father Judge. Dyou know Simon B, I asked.

Sure, he said. I taught him.

You taught him? (They looked about the same age)

I never forget a name, he said.

Oh, well, there were lots of them. I think there were nine of them.

Reader, lemme tell you something. I wrote a novel about this man and his girlfriend and I think it's really good. 100 agents turned me down, but I've gotta start sending out them query letters again.

Encourage me!


Scott drove. I took photos from Northeast Philly to the Tacony-Palmyra (Draw)Bridge We traveled down Bustleton Ave.

OMG, I said. This is where "Einstein One" is. That's where I went to see my heart doctor, Amanullah, to make sure my heart was strong enuf for my kidney transplant.

It's still ticking!

Several blocks away is Jack's Famous Deli, home of the best tongue I've ever had, othan Corky and Lenny's in Cleveland.

I'll be back, Jack, I'll be back.

I liked the looks of this church.

Most of these photos were taken on the run. In other words, we were moving.

What I wanted to take was a lil shop located in a string of row-houses. I like this shot anyway. The intrepid photographer is in the side-view mirror. Intrepid is the wrong word. Intrepid are the photographers in war zones, which are currently - count em! - Libya, Syria, etc etc etc

I love the sign announcing our destination. A bridge is a thing of beauty. Not just the Golden Gate or George Washington but all bridges, even the small clanking bridge leading from New Hope, PA, to Lambertville, NJ.

Delaware River

God only knows what I was trying to capture in this photo as Scott drove across the bridge.

Gas was a dime or so cheaper in Jersey than in PA.

Highlights of the Mother's Day in New Jersey were:

Danny's grilled shrimp and grilled chicken
Debbie's caesar salad
Carol's macaroni salad and deviled eggs w/ relish in em
Viewing 16-yo Matt's art portfolio
New earrings and bracelet handmade by husband and wife Amy and Tommy

KIDNEY CLINIC

I graduated so I only must go once a week on Mondays.

Left home at 7:30 am, got into the clink at 8:10 and was home by 11:45. Not bad.

Met a couple of new people there. You have your own little support group there in the waiting room, talking about things you never imagined you ever would!

I sat between "Lorraine" and "Nick."

We discovered something amazing! They both received kidneys from the same cadaver, a 39-yo man who was a drug addict and a drinker and had a seizure that cost him his life.

That day, said Nick, SIX TRANPSLANT SURGERIES were performed. Who knows? It could've all been from the same dead man.

Nick got his kidney first, in the early afternoon. Lorraine went in later that afternoon for her kidney.

Lorraine had been on dialysis for eight long years, Nick only three.

Nick has an unknown infection: protein in his urine. They can't find the cause.

The other week Nick came in w/ his two young kids. They were adorable. His young son had a ponytail or some fashionable hairstyle, just the way his dad is tattooed over his whole body.

Clearly, his kids adored him and were glad to be w/ him. His wife has custody of the children.

When Nick left, I yelled across the room, What's your first name? cuz they always call us by our last, so that's how I found out.

Was I seeing correctly, I said to Mr Williamson next to me?

Is that a motorcycle helmet, I asked?

Yep, he said. You're not supposed to ride a motorcycle for the first six months cuz it joggles your kidneys.

I said that deaths by motorcycle accidents account for lots of new kidneys for those on the list.

On the other hand, why shouldn't Nick live life to the fullest! This is actually his second kidney. The other lasted 13 years. Then 3 years of dialysis and presto - a new kidney.

Lemme tell you something. Lots of us do not follow orders. Dennis is a farmer. The week he got out, he got his hands in the soil. You're sposed to wait six months and then wear gloves.

My hands are itching!

Poor Miss Joyce. She came in today w/ a broken toe.

And you're the former marathon runner, I said to her. She broke it last week and you could see how bruised it was. Shiver! Shiver when you look at it.

Joyce is brave, tho, and hates when people try to help her. She drove down by herself, tucking her walker in the car.

Lorraine's cellphone rang. It was her son telling her the TV was broke.

We laffed! He's a grown man w/ a couple of kids who lives w/ Lorraine, a 64-yr-old retired social worker.

When it was my turn to go back I read my good book - The Madman and the Professor - about the early days of the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) and then Rahib Raja, the nephrologist came in to see me.

He asked if I had a good mother's day.

I asked him, Dyou eat Indian food?

No, none of that. Not for a long time.

How bout Tiffin restaurant?

It's no good, he said. It doesn't taste like real Indian food but Americans luv it cuz they don't know the real taste.

Yeah, I'm thinking now, it's like Strohman's is to real bread.

When he came over to listen to my chest I read his first name - Rahib.

Oh, is that 'short' for something, I asked.

No, he said.

Oh, sez I, I thot it might be like Rabindranath Tagore, the 1913 poet laureate of India, and paid sponsor of Tiffin's and American Express.

In an amazing coincidence - Sarah and I excell in these! - today is Tagore's b'day. 1861-1941. He died at age 80 after immense suffering, yet his best work, accordg to the Internet, was done during his illnesses, and were all about Death.

Raise your hands in hallejuah, children, if you've been saved from the brink of death.

Raja and I talked about my diabetes. He had actually never seen what insulin looks like.

Here it is! I said, removing my 'pen' of Novolog from my Audubon bag.

I showed him how to set it and inject it.

That's great, he said, so much easier than the old way, and he made a motion of sticking himself in the chest.

After discussing my still-high blood sugar, we decided to change the dosage from 8 units before every meal to 10 units.

It's always low in the morning (normal) but high later in the day.

Next I told Rajahdaddy I wanna get back surgery from Dr Guy Lee of Abington Hospital.

How long should I wait after having had my transplant?

Six to eight months, he said. Your body should be stabilized after six months.

That is very good news. Only six more months of absolutely excruciating backbreaking pain and suffering, tho it varies from 0 to 10 on the Richter scale. Right now, sitting on my couch and tapping away there is no pain at all.

The worse is when I lie in bed when we go up to 10.

Scott and I watch movies in bed. Our latest is Treasure Island, the 1934 classic w/ Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. Cooper died last week at age 88 so I checked the movie outa the library.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.



Driving out of the Einstein compound, you see a Widener Building, possibly the former estate of Peter Widener, (born 1834), a steel and tobacco tycoon and one of the founders of Montgomery County! I took the photo so I could enlarge it and see if there's anything interesting.