Kidney failure offers no lasting recovery -- rather it is a lifelong fight where you must pry the joy of life each day from the clutches of fate. It has been said that for dialysis patients, the period where one enjoys the serenity of having a new (gently used) kidney functioning is similar to that of a cancer patient being in remission. You don't know how long the peace will last, so you live each day to the fullest -- with the hope that, regardless of how long it lasts, when you do end up back on dialysis, you'll be able to get another transplant, and quickly.
This concept was shared with Evie and her daddy while they did their best to live after the manner of happiness throughout their months in the hospital together while her team of doctors and nurses did everything they could to help her body stabilize. Evie thought it was cool how friends and family of cancer patients shaved their heads in solidarity--but she wasn't going to lose her hair--and more importantly, she couldn't recall having seen her daddy with any (he started shaving his head when she was two weeks old.)
Somehow, they had the idea that he could grow out his beard. So he made her a promise that he would start growing a beard once she was on the transplant registry (and not trim it), and Evie gets to cut it off when she has a transplant.
It took Evie six months to get healthy enough to be listed on the transplant registry. And her daddy has now been growing his beard since July 2013. He's been asked if he's ready to try out for ZZ Top, if he hopes to join Duck Dynasty, if he is a Red Sox fan, and if he's behind the No-Shave-November movement. Many co-workers and friends think that as the beard turns seven months old, it ought to get a name.
Have any suggestions?
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