From Randy Yaussy
New Kidney in Town
As many of you know, on July 11 I had successful kidney transplant surgery. Thank you all for the prayers, well wishes, cards and calls. We truly have a wonderful and caring car club. I am so proud to be part of it.
In early 2021 I was diagnosed with poor kidney function (CKD, stage 4). Thanks to my doctors I have been able to stay off dialysis and maintain my numbers. 16 months ago I got on MUSC’s transplant list. The average wait time is 3-5 years, so we are very blessed to get a match this soon. I spent 3 days at MUSC’s Lancaster Transplant Center, then home to continue my recovery. My donor had two small kidneys and I received them both. Now it’s two trips a week to Lancaster for follow up visits. All is going well, however we will quarantine while my immune system is compromised. Kimberly is making sure I follow doctor’s orders. She’s a great caregiver.
Now to all you gearheads and knuckelheads (you know who you are). This is what really went down.
A few years ago I started to burn oil. Blue smoke. I went in for a 67,000 mile check up and my mechanic, citing oil filter problems, referred me to a Filterologist. She tried additives with zinc for extra sweet oil and high pressure, ultimately deciding I needed replacement filters. Since I run a rare B Positive system, filters are hard to find. On July 10 the Filterologist scored 2 small filters that matched my system. I drove to the shop in Lancaster and the next morning the procedure began. She subbed out a cutter, wrencher, plumber and welder with a total shop rate of $30,000/hour. Thankfully I got all those extended warranty calls. Also the feds help with a program they call MediCAR that kicks in at 65k miles. The rebuild procedure went well. I am now on 13 daily additives and have 2 new injectors. Makes the motor more regular with better flow. We also had to lean the carbs out of our diet. I now have a 4-filter system with a 4 into 1 exhaust header. I’m limited to 3000 rpms during the break-in period. Of course I am not actually allowed to drive yet, so Kimberly (hell-on-wheels) is my chauffeur. Hel-en and I get lots of bonding time in the car. No radio, just bonding. It’s special……you should all try it! I asked the mechanic’s assistant if I could drive early and she said NO! HELL NO!!! Oh well, it was worth a try. I think I might shop for an ebike! I’ll still keep up with you all.
Ciao,
Randy