A health update

[joshleland]

Many of you know my health problems of the past few years, lymphoma lymphoma, bone marrow transplant, gall bladder removal, Hepatitis B. It reads like a who's who of what not to have happen to you. But I got through it, I had been feeling great and was loving life.

I started having some problems with my kidneys in the last couple of weeks. Monday my kidneys gave out permanently. My doctor told me to go to the ER immediately but I refused. That day was my Mom's 80th birthday and we were having a party for her and there was no way I was missing that. If you met my mom (Maxine) at the National, Brimfield or Atlantique City you would understand, but I guess that should be standard course for any mom. The party was pretty incredible and my mom loved it. We all did. I'll be posting some photos and stuff on my Facebook page in a few days.

I am writing this hooked up to a dialysis machine at the hospital. The good news is that I will leave a normal life (as normal as you could say my life is). I already feel 10 times better after one full treatment. I will be getting a Peritoneal unit in a month or two and will be sale to do my treatments at home while I sleep. The machine is the size of a briefcase and I can take it on the road with me. I am not cutting bak on my show schedule,. I am not relinquishing any of my duties at Lelands. I love what I do and I have no desire to do anything else. I am one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to do what I love most with the people I love day in and day out, year after year. This hobby has been great to me and I appreciate all of you being a part of my life.

My sister Andrea has pledged to give me one of her kidneys and we are now just starting to look into transplant. With that I will be like new. My doctors are amazing and the support of my family friends and especially the people at the firm is tremendous.

I am telling you a lot of these medical details because there are a lot of misconceptions out there about this disease. I went in scared because I thought this would affect my life expectancy and I would end up having to go to some shady place to buy a black market kidney to survive or I would be stuck to a machine for the rest of my now shortened life. None of this is true.

Boy, would that suck because there are so many pieces I am still looking to find, people I have not yet met and places I still want to see. I have had an incredible life, a blessed life, filled with excitement and intensity and joy and pain and so much love. I'm going to be around a while and plan on giving you all a run for your money doing what we love to do. Life is sweet.

Josh Evans
Lelands.com