I am pleased to introduce you to John Paul. He is a blogging entrepreneur who runs the very successful "The Money Dummy" blog. He offers amazing advice on everything blogging from A - Z. His site is one I look at quite often for advice, as he is no doubt an expert on the subject!
Aside from all I have learned from his site, what really intrigued me is that he had a kidney transplant at the age of 18. He has graciously taken time to answer a few questions I had about how it affected his life.
1. What was your diagnosis you needed a kidney transplant for?
I honestly don't remember, I know at 5 my parents were told that by 18 I would either be fine for life or I'd need a kidney, and around 18, I needed a kidney.
Basically... my kidneys were shrinking.
2. Was the condition chronic or acute?
Once I had issues, things progressed pretty fast.
3. How did the diagnosis/transplant change your life?
I could do a full interview on this one question!
I will say this, at first it was hard to be 18 and dealing with all this and still try to live a normal teen lifestyle. But fast forward to now, I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't want to go through it all again, but I'm in a good place in my life, how I see things, the way I deal with things.
Plus, if I hadn't gone through all this, I wouldn't be doing what I do now to make a living. I may be in a job I hate. Now I love what I do, I have free time to enjoy life and I see the value in taking time to enjoy life and stay healthy.
4. Do you have any long lasting effects?
The reality is you can't take anti-rejection medications for more than 10 years and not have negative effects on your system.
You take medicine to be healthy today, but know those same medications will break things down in the long term.
I don't dwell on all that though... I just go about my life everyday and whatever happens... happens.
5. On your website you mentioned "getting off disability" with the earnings from your web endeavors. Are you still considered "disabled" by government standards/eligible to receive benefits?
Yes, "technically" I am still disabled and could receive benefits if I chose to.
John Paul Aguiar, Blogging Entrepreneur that helps Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs better use Blogging and Social Media to grow their business online.
If you would like to connect with him, you can find him at JohnPaulAguiar.com or BrainyMarketer.com.
Labels: Kidney, Stories, Transplant
