A few of you close to me know that I've been excessively sick for the past month or so. What most of you don't know is that Kitsap River and her diaries about diabetes and kidney disease are largely responsible for my finding what was wrong, getting treatment, and starting the healing process when the problem was largely subclinical. It's no understatement that I can expect to live and age in a healthy way because of her. She's helped me subvert a hugely degenerative kidney disease -- I caught it early, before I lost much kidney function and before there was no return to normal life -- and I caught this simply because of Kitsap River. It might well be that sitting at my computer and reading her diaries saved my life.
So be it. This is my testimony to Kitsap River, and to the value of community diaries at Daily Kos...
The nominated diary is KosAbility: Living Well with Type 2 Diabetes (Dedicated to the One I Love.) I can't tell you how handily it and other of her diabetes/kidney disease diaries have helped me in these past handful of weeks -- I've been able to navigate a series of confusing symptoms and lab results because of this and her other diaries. Kitsap River has been helpful, too -- although I don't know her, she responded to my email questions kindly and thoroughly. I learned about what specialists to see, what questions to ask, and which labwork was important. But mostly, she gave a damn about a stranger. And my sense is that helping strangers is what motivates her to write these diaries.
She has her life and soul invested in her story, and I'm here to tell you that she's given me a gift. She is the real deal, and I hope that her diary doesn't fall off the kOscars nominated list. I can honestly say that my life is better because she decided to write this stuff. Maybe if we give her words some legs, they will help someone else.
This is a short note -- I don't do personal diaries very well. I do like to say "thanks" when big thanks are due, though.
Thanks, KR!