Yes, but.......

Here's the last word before I left Mayo today: Yes, I can donate a kidney but.......
(1) I have to lose 10 pounds,
(2) Start on some cholesterol reducing medicine, and
(3) Pass one more test in a couple months.

The devil in the details.
Glucose Levels: Went back down to normal but with diet and even more exercise they would be better.
Blood Pressure Levels: Are within limits but with diet and even more exercise they would be better.
Cholesterol Levels: Are only slightly too high, but if I take pills it'll help stop any further buildup in my arteries and with diet and even more exercise they would be better. (Anyone sensing a theme here?)
Kidneys: (Here's where the other test comes in) are fine. In fact, most people have one artery going to their kidneys, I have 2 going to each.
Mr. Right: (Yes, I've named them) has a little buildup of plaque on one artery but it's small and at where it attaches to the main artery so they can just cut it out at the buildup and NAT would have 2 clear arteries going in. That is great in case one clotted off, he'd have another.
Lefty: Has 2 arteries but one goes directly in and the other wonders off somewhere into my abdomen (a vast abyss). Plus, Lefty has some scar tissue. Therefore, they want to do a second test later to make sure Lefty is pulling his own weight and not letting Mr. Right do all the work.

Now, I talked to both kidneys on the way home and Mr. Right is fine with going. In fact he wanted to go to a younger body that wouldn't give him stones, build up plaque in his veins, and not have to live in fear of injuries that leave scars on him. He also said something about living a more exciting life in a younger body than I could provide any more and he feared if he stayed with me he'd end up in need of replacement since I still do things that could damage him too. (The Dr. said once I was healed I could return to Tae Kwon Do sparring!)

Lefty on the other hand said he was quite attached to me, literally. And, we earned our scars together so he wanted to stay where he was. He knows that chicks dig scars even if they are only visible to nurses doing sonograms, CT scans, and X-rays. He thought the scarring was Macho, and accused Mr. Right of being a wimp. Plus, he saw the video on how they are going to take Mr. Right out and he got a little woosy. (They burn away the connecting tissue with a laser type pen and yank him out by hand.)

All this was fine with the Dr. He wanted Mr. Right anyway although the final decision will be up to the surgeon after he reviews the pictures. (BTW, I tried to order copies of the pictures but they wouldn't let me. I thought both kidneys were very handsome indeed and I wanted a picture of us all together one last time.)

Now, as to where Lefty got the scars, I don't know. The Dr. said either a very serious illness or a deep injury. Well, I've never been seriously ill and I don't remember any deep injuries. The Dr. suggested maybe HS football injury that I just wrote off as a bruised rib or muscle. NAT thought it was probably from an old SCA wound. It's not a fresh scar so it is NOT from TKD. Lefty thinks NAT is right. I took some pretty vicious hits in SCA and the padding was not very professional or protective (a thick belt covered with a little carpet). I tend to agree but it doesn't matter now. I'm too old to be hit with large heavy rattan swords and am into being kicked in the ribs instead. At least I have professional (super heavy) padding now.

Gary, you are in charge of keeping me out of cake and ice cream on exercises. I've got to give up the sweets to lose 10 pounds. With Ellies great cooking, it's going to be hard to stay out of too much food at home too but I'm sure NAT will be watching my weight very closely to keep me on track. If all goes well, the kidney transplant is back on and looking good.