@ Home - In pain

It's been 4 days since the transplant. I waited to take a pain pill for however long I could last. It was 8 hours and now my lower back is hurting on the side of the kidney they took. It's going to be a long week.

@ Home - Ready for Surgery Tomorrow.

The Kidney transplant surgery is tomorrow, I have some anxiety, but I think that is getting subsided by the streaming techno I am listening to :)

Plus, I think I got A’s in both my Cisco Routing and Switching classes.

And I got my hair cut short again. It's the shortest it's ever been. 

Lots of new things in my life, that's for sure.

@ Home - Corn Rows

So I figured I would get corn rows before I cut my hair off for the Kidney transplant. I don’t think I’m going to grow it out again, so I figured why not. My coworker at Starbucks, Jonilynn, took the initiative to give me the corn row treatment.  

@ Home - N' Smiling

So, much has happened since I update the ol’ blog. I have since gotten the OK from the Mayo Clinic to proceed with the transplant. I have scheduled the transplant on December 13^th 2011. Funny thing is I remember the December 13^th is my friend Katrina Coquillard’s birthday. On a side note, I was talking to my Steam friend Pink Panther and told him I wasn’t worried about the recovery. I compared it to the summer when I got hit by a car and remembered it was the best summer because I got to drink milk shakes every day because my jaw was broken. I realized that I can remember the good in a situation amidst the pain.

I’m really excited to give gifts this Christmas even though I’m not spending a whole bunch. I am however going to update my computer with some sick parts. I am also looking forward to checking out and possibly purchasing the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone, called the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon’s 4G.

This semester I am taking Cisco Routing and Switching classes to continue to work toward my CCNA certification. The finals are going to be tough, because I am going to have to take them early because of the Transplant surgery.

Wow, and with Thanksgiving being just yesterday, I realized I have so much to be thankful for. Things such as Christ, my Health, a Job, a Support system from friends and family, and the list goes on. Life is so precious because we only have a certain time. Worry should never be in the equation, even when you are in the toughest situation. All you have to do is just remember what is going to happen the next day or when you are done dealing with the issue. THAT, for me, is so comforting.

I’m done ranting now ;)

@ The Mayo Clinic - Waiting for a CT scan

Today has been a long day. I got up at 4:30am and drove to north Scottsdale (34 miles away) and have spent the whole day at the Mayo clinic getting my initial testing done for being a living kidney donor. I have met my amazing team here and they are all bright and super friendly. They have all set aside my fears of donating, and also brought up some other internal concerns. I just need to trust God with the possible concerns that came up for the first time. I have already also been stuck twice, once for over 10 vials of blood, and also for now I have a catheter in my arm for the contrast that they are going to pump me full of for my CT scan. The only issue I have with all my days at the Mayo clinic is the distance and the time at which it occurs. I know that is a selfish concern, but still it wears on my patience, time, and finances. Am I scared, of course, but will it be worth it, you becha!

Ready to Shred! Are you?

So last time I was on the slopes shredding it up (not like this)

<---- but like this:

something happened to one of my highback side bolts :(

Well I finally took the initiative to investigate my broken snowboard binding further. I went to Home Depot, Lowes and even 2 different snowboard shops, and nobody could tell me where to get the piece. I finally found what the piece was called, it was a T-Nut and usually used for wood, but Burton used a special version in my bindings a long time ago. I went to one place and they didn’t have one small enough to fit in the hole, so they suggested going to ACE Hardware. I went there and found a circular one that fit, so I just figured that I would file the sides down and it would be perfect. So I did that and here’s how it turned out: 

Now I’m back in the game! So is this a creative or crude fix?

@ Home Goods - Checking stuff out

I was walking around in the store and stopped by the pet section and found this little beauty. For the life of me I cannot figure out how a dog bowl and Jersey Shore are related.

I mean if it said Ohhh Yea, Water Yea! It would make more sense because Pauly D would say something like that. Really it’s the silliest thing I have seen in a while.

@ Springfield-Branson National Airport - Allegiant Flight Catastrophe

So funny story, I was late to the Springfield, MO airport because Tyler Coquillard and I were running late and also got some lunch on the way. I was about 5 minutes late getting to the front check-in so Allegiant didn’t hold the plane for me, even though the plane was still connected to the terminal. I was livid at Allegiant because the next flight was Thursday, I had work on Wednesday and they said I had to forfeit my seat with no transferability.


I called Tyler back and he came and hung out with me to try to find an alternative way home. I called my mom because she was going to pick me up at the airport in Mesa, AZ. She was trying to find me flights to get there before Wednesday so that I could work on time. I started calling friends that might be driving back to Arizona, so I could help them with their road trip to keep costs down. Martin Russo was the kindest and said we could probably work something out. I was also on the phone with Allegiant Customer support and the lady said that there was nothing they were going to do to help me out. This was the first time I took Allegiant AND now the last time.


Tyler and I started back to the car to get back home and figure things out, because he’s a stud like that. I then got in the car and received a call from the Springfield airport and the lady asked if I was still there at the airport. She explained that it was my lucky day and that I the plain was coming back for maintenance and that I could come back and board. I thanked Tyler for his awesomeness and sprinted back to front, to check in. I ended up talking with the lady that just called me and she said that she had called several times. I was very lucky, so I ran through security and got to the gate and boarded the plane in the front where there was an open seat. We all sat there for about 30 minutes and they said they were still working on the plane, but had to let us off (with our luggage).


Now I am sitting in the nice air conditioned airport gate while they are fixing the plane. They don’t offer free beverages during flight, but they are offering free sodas right now. Although I have no reason to complain, I am complaining on behalf of all the other passengers that were on time. A gentleman next to me said that he has flown Allegiant a few times and every time he leaves from the Springfield airport he has encountered delays. The last one he said was a 3 hour delay. Another gentleman next to me said that this was his first time using Allegiant, and it was because of the cost (which was my primary reason), and agreed with me that you get what you pay for. Who knows how long this will take. I guess the reason I am writing this is to ask if anyone else has had a similar flying experience???


~Chris Ryan~

On the light rail - digressing from a long day

I always find myself letting out a nice big sigh when I get on the light rail. It's the rides home where you contemplate how things are going, and I'm doing so right now. Work and school is tough, but I am learning a bunch of useful stuff. Well it's the end of the ride for me :)

@ Home - with new hope

There is a new hope that a Kidney donation to my dad will become reality. It is stage 1 in the coming, but it still brings hope. Basically my dad was contacted by the local Mayo clinic about Kidney stuff, so we'll see where this goes. But here is to hoping