My DH is a cadaver kidney recipient. He lost his due to 22 years of diabetes. I can walk you thru what we went through, during the decision process. His siblings were climbing all over each other to donate theirs, but since diabetes is prevalent in his family, he decided to decline (both his brother and sister who offered have kids of their own and he thought if the parents end up with diabetes, their only remaining kidney would be at risk and he didn't want their kids to risk losing parents). At that time we didn't have kids yet. I didn't get tested for some of the same reasons. First, I also have a lot of diabetes risk due to family history, and second, we knew we'd eventually want to have kids, and though you can have kids with one kidney, the risk of carrying a child is greatly increased. Finally, Emory University was initiating kidney-pancreas transplants. The thought was, if you still have diabetes after you receive the transplant, the life expectancy of the donated organ is lower than if you were not diabetic. So why not try to see if the pancreas would work? We figured we didn't have anything to lose by trying (normally cadaver pancreas is not utilized). DH was the third KP transplant Emory did. They now do over 200 a year. He lost the initial pancreas, but 2 years later, he got a secondary pancreas only transplant, and it succeeded. So in his case, he's been normal-blood-sugar since 1998. In theory, his new kidney should last as long as a non-diabetic person's kidneys would. The dialysys and wait for the initial transplant was nearly two years, but only a little over a year of that were we actually on the waiting list (it takes some time to treat initial renal failure, then some time to get approved for a transplant). We are very grateful to both of his cadaver donors. We also knew the person who received the liver from the same donor we got the second pancreas from, and I saw that liver work a true miracle in that family's lives. SIDE NOTE TO OUR DONORS: THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU WHOEVER YOU WERE! And thanks to your loved ones and families who made such a phenomenally difficult decision. Know that we now have a 7 year old daughter we would not have without that kidney, and also that DH takes great care of himself, and is doing wonderfully. So far, his sister has developed thyroid disease, and his brother developed Type 2 diabetes, so we do not regret turning their generous offer away.

I call that the "Everything Must Have A Name" rule. None of this "poultry fat" stuff - gotta tell me if it's chicken or duck or whatever. Just "animal fat"? Run away screaming. On the "meal" issue... if your pet food contains fish meal, make sure it is specified as "ethoxyquin-free". Not that the entire pet food in total is ethoxyquin-free, but that that particular ingredient is. (Pet food manufacturers are not required by law to tell you what may have been added to an ingredient before it comes into their possession if they don't want to, so all kinds of preservatives, contaminants and such can be in there. They just have to tell you what THEY do to it.) By US law, fish meal not intended for human consumption must be preserved with ethoxyquin. A very few processors have been granted waivers to produce fish meal preserved with something other than ethoxyquin and usually it's trumpeted loud and clear as a marketing point when a pet food manufacturer uses ethoxyquin-free fish meal - Wellness is one of them, and it took some digging but Natura Pet Products (Innova, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise, and Karma Organic) is on board there too. "Digest" must be avoided at all costs even if it does have a species name although more often than not it's just on there as "animal digest". It's gods-only-know-what waste material chemically or enzymatically broken down - predigested - into a slurry in order to convert it into supposedly-bioavailable protein that a less-than-scrupulous pet food manufacturer can use to raise the "crude protein" content on the label. Not only does the animal usually get little actual nutritional value out of the substance but what can legally go into "animal digest" is gruesome to say the least - there is no control over quality, source, or contamination. I do have to nitpick just a little bit though - by-products are not necessarily always bad, but it's a case of Know Thy Manufacturer. See, people go on and on about by-products being whatever junk swept up off the factory floor when by legal definition it is just the stuff that isn't "striated muscle" (either skeletal muscles, diaphragm, or heart): "lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs and intestines freed of their contents" and specifically excludes "hair, horns, teeth and hoofs". If you've got a food company that gets that material fresh and handles it properly so it doesn't spoil, it's very good stuff. C'mon, people eat kidneys, brains, liver, blood (usually made into sausage - black pudding being a famous variety), stomachs (tripe), and intestines ("chitlins" and sausage casings), and many of the frozen-raw-diet manufacturers are all over the stuff. A hot trend in natural pet food is "green tripe", which is cow stomach without the contents removed, just ground up semi-digested grass and all. (The smell of it will clear a house though. Whoooo-eeee!) So really it's more a question of knowing your manufacturer than avoiding an entire class of ingredient. Many of the better pet-food manufacturers are avoiding brains entirely these days though, because of worries about BSE.

Hello All, I have some sad news to share with you all. After Ruby stopped eating last week, we were asked to make an appointment with a surgeon to do an exploratory abdominal surgery. We took her in yesterday, June 1st, the surgeon opened her up and called with in five minutes, saying that the tumor had spread to majority of her intestines and was inoperable. He also mentioned that it seemed to have metastasized as the lymph nodes are swollen. His suggestion was to put her out of her misery. Having seen Ruby go through a very rough weekend, where she was constantly vomiting and suffered from Diarrhea , we decided to put her to sleep. She was a wonderful friend and companion and will be dearly missed. The kids and the family are having a rough time digesting the news...as we were never told she had cancer..all the biopsies were negative...and she was being treated for ulcer..and all of sudden she deteriorated in a week. She never lost any weight..may be a pound or so..but that's it. All her vitals were perfect. The blood tests were impeccable. Yet she was so sick..Poor thing she suffered a great deal. Please pray for my Ruby's peace. Does any one how to post Ruby's picture here? Copy n paste apparently does not work. Here are some quotes that reflect how we feel about Ruby: "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." ―Will Rogers "I said "good bye, I love you", When I saw that look in your eyes It was the type of look you give someone When you know these are your last goodbyes. You were just a dog some might say But I know theyre all wrong You were more than a dog You were my best friend, and Now dear friend it is going to be long, Before I can hold you in my arms once again. It is hard to put in words how you made me feel But when I heard your foot steps charging to me, There is nothing in the world that couldve made me more happy You were so small, yet You had more energy than any dog I had ever met You were so strong.. and Ill never forget, All the fun times we shared together You were with me for so short of a time But you taught me so much I never knew I could love anyone the way I loved you All I had to do was touch Your soft fur and I knew everything would be ok I dont know what I will do without you I feel like theres a huge hole in me Once so filled with joy and glee Now so empty and cold, I'm sure your spirit is still with me and I hope you know I will have and better dog and There will always be a place in my heart for you.. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy And have a nice fuzzy bed to sleep in You can be free now.. no more leashes.. I will see you again.. When my time comes I will look forward to seeing you And we can be together once more I will never forget you.. You are forever a part of me As I am a part of you Dont worry though.. Im not going to be blue All Ill have to do is whisper your name to myself And look for ward to the day.. when I will once again get to hold you" -Christina Rae Almeida

Sunday 27th July 2008. Emma has been like her old self today...even chasing my friends cat round the living room! 2 weeks ago the cat would have been able to walk all over her and Emma would not have raised an eyebrow!She has also got her appetite back well. It's lovely to see,but then she is on 250mg X 2 daily of Synulox Anti Bio's for 3 weeks(this is the end of her 1st week)I wonder why the vet (I will ask him tomorrow)why the Anti Bio's for so long and so much.My reason is that he may think that there may be an underlying infection causing the Kidney problem?I didn't realize the extent of the course until I arrived home,I thought it may be for her teeth? as she had them cleaned & 1 x extaction.Course seems too long for that though. The reason I ask about lumps being connected to Kidney disease is that....in my research, it stated that dogs with Kidney problems can get mouth & Oesophagus ulcers due to high Nitrogen in system. I have put Emma on a Prescription diet(which she's not impressed with & turned her nose up at initially) plus some cooked fresh chicken mixed in to tempt her,she has eaten most.......so far. Re the lump...originally before closer examination,vet treated her for throat infection due to redness(inflamation)in throat.If canerous,would there be inflamation,does anyone know,? ..I thought unlikely.