#SlowItDownCKD 2019

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The Change

Yesterday was our 12th anniversary. I should have gotten Bear a gift of the 12th anniversary traditional silk or linen. I didn’t. He’s in a rehabilitation hospital recovering from a fall that cracked three ribs which affects his breathing. Me? I’m in bed at home with a bad cold. But I did start reminiscing about all we shared since the wedding. You know, people like my brothers, their wives, our…

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In the Beginning…

Today is the last day of National Kidney Month here in the U.S. It’s also the last day of Women’s History Month here, in the UK, and Australia. I wondered if I could honor both by writing about the woman who initiated helping others in the chronic kidney disease world. Let’s see how I do. Have you ever heard the name Ada DeBold? That’s who I’m referring to. The National Kidney Foundation has the…

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A New Skill

I’ll tell you about it after I remind you that March is National Kidney Month. How about getting your urine and blood checked to see if you have chronic kidney disease or, if you know you do, what your status is. It’s worth that little pinch in your arm to save a life, especially if it’s yours. On to my new skill. I have finally learned, at the age of 78, to waste time. Now, you need to remember…

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Tell Us About It

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  It’s also National Kidney Month here in the United States. With all due respect to Saint Patrick, it’s National Kidney Month that we’ll be dealing with today. Specially, it’s Kidney Stories Toastmasters. But first, an explanation of Toastmasters from their website: “Since 1924, Toastmasters has been inspiring people to confidently communicate through regular practice…

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World Kidney Day

We know this is an annual event. This year it takes place on the 13th of this month since it’s always the second Thursday in March. The following information for this year’s World Kidney Day is directly from their website. But do read on passed this information to see what’s happening on that day. “Are Your Kidneys OK? Detect early, protect kidney health [Gail here: that’s this year’s…

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Earlier or Later Makes No Difference, But ....

In Arizona, we don’t make use of daylight saving time [DST]except for in the Navajo Nation since it spans several states. It’s amazing how much confusion DST can cause, although TimeandDate.com succinctly explains how widely daylight savings time is practiced: “Daylight Saving Time is now used in over 70 countries worldwide and affects over one billion people every year. The beginning and end…

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Death Rears Its Ugly Head

The Medical Dictionary defines shock as: “a sudden disturbance of mental equilibrium” That is a pretty accurate description of what happened when I got the call from my sister-in-law that my brother had died. We’d been expecting this for weeks, but oh, it was a shock anyway. The same site goes on to explain that shock: “is associated with a dangerously low blood pressure” I can understand…

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Black History Month

Bet you thought I forgot to write about Black History Month this year. I didn’t, but as usual, I’ll be taking a little liberty with the history part. In fact, rather than name doctors, I’ll be writing about Black issues in nephrology. My first stop was The American Kidney Fund. They had the facts: Photo by Thomas Nguka on Pexels.com “African Americans are more at risk for kidney failure than…

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 Make It Work

Last year, I wrote about Ozempic not being for those with type 1 diabetes. Keep in mind that diabetes is the foremost cause of CKD. Recently, I read that the FDA approved Ozempic for use in type 1 diabetes. Yep, my mind was blown. I couldn’t understand how that was a good idea now when it hadn’t been just last year. So, you and I are going to explore this as best we can with the governmental…

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Volume, Explained

Not being on any kind of dialysis myself, I wondered about it. I understand what dialysis is and the different forms of dialysis, but not volume. While I could research that myself, I’m happy to inform you that Dr. Christopher El Mouhayyar  contacted me and wanted to explain this term in a guest blog. Talk about serendipity. Chris is a Nephrology Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/ Brigham…

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Great Minds

Of course, I flatter myself  here, but I also flatter Mathea Ford. She is a registered dietician with a specialty in chronic kidney disease. Way back in 2014, she interviewed me on her podcast, Renal Diet HQ Podcast. That was then; this is now. This week, she talked about milk. Interesting because I had planned to write about a milk substitute. She happened to mention it in this week’s podcast.…

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Let’s Start with A  

Version 1.0.0 The alphabet begins with A. So do the different types of Hepatitis. I’ve written about Hepatitis B & C previously, but poor Hepatitis A has been ignored. Today, we rectify that. Let’s start at the beginning with a definition of Hepatitis A.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary tells us: “an acute usually benign hepatitis that is caused by a picornavirus (species Hepatitis A virus of…

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Welcome back, Leesa

Last year, we were lucky enough to have not one, but two, guest blogs from Leesa Thompson. To refresh your memory, this is how she was described in RiverJournalOnline, a upstate New York journal, upon winning an award for Kidney Stories: “In 2022, Leesa founded and is the President of ‘Kidney Stories,’ a specialized club of Toastmasters International, an organization that promotes the…

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Not Sushi

Welcome to 2025. We were lucky enough to have our New York daughter, Nima, with us for the new year. One thing I like to do when she’s here is make sure she gets the kind of food she wants. That’s easy for me because I don’t cook it. We order it via Door Dash. One of the meals she requested this visit was sushi. You guessed it. I started to wonder why we never ate sushi. Did it have to do with…

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The Heart of the Matter

Before we get to that, I couldn’t resist sharing what AI has to say about me (spelling errors and all). “Gail Ray Garwood, also known as Slow It Down CKD, is a passionate advocate for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) awareness. Gail’s journey began when she was diagnosed with CKD, which motivated her to educate herself and others about the disease. Through her social media presence, Gail shares…

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The Marriage Between the Lungs and the Kidneys

Here we are just a couple of days before Christmas and Chanukah, which just happen to be the same day this year. Remember, Chanukah is based on the Lunisolar Calendar, so its dates change yearly. This is one year we will not be celebrating with our family on the actual day. Why? Because I have bronchitis and it sounds like most of my little family does, too. I’m not worried about the celebration.…