The Kidney Boy - Back on Dialysis

07/08/2026

Fourth of July at camp… in a wheelchair!

07/08/2026

It’s July 2026 - that means I’ve been back on Dialysis for three years now. The last year I’ve had a lot of complications. Losing my mobility and having surgery on my spine were pretty big ordeals. It’s been five months since I had spinal surgery on my thoracic spine, and I have gone from not being able to move my legs or toes to being able to stand and walk with a walker. I have much more independent mobility because of that and because of an electric wheelchair that my friends made available to me. I’ve really only made it this far through the grace of my friends and the efforts of my family. My mother and father put so much time and effort into making sure that I could have a decent life. This weekend they went above and beyond in, making sure that I could come up to camp for our Fourth of July celebration. They built little ramps up at camp for me to be able to get around and I was able to spend the holiday with my kids and the rest of my extended family. This meant more to me than I can ever say. I’ve been able to do well and live comfortably because of your generosity. I post updates about things in my GoFundMe and the link is below in a post. You can check it out there for more info and I can’t tell you how much you have all helped me over the past few months. I’ve had peace of mind because of it. I’ll continue to heal and do physical therapy - my spinal doc is very pleased with the progress. He said that it can take a full year for some patients to come back to some kind of normal. It takes a long time for the nerves to heal and learn to work with the muscles again. But I am getting there. Thank you so much for all your help.

03/13/2026

If you haven’t heard, I have been in the hospital the past several weeks. I lost the use of my limbs, and ended up having spinal surgery to try and correct that. I am now in rehab rehabilitation to try to regain the use of my legs, so I can eventually stand and walk again. My friends set up a GoFundMe to help me during this time and you can check that out here.

I am raising funds for my dear friend since high school, Steve Alexander, a frien… Lauren Anne needs your support for Support Steve Alexander's Health Journey

01/29/2026

You can get updates and more as I navigate life on dialysis and the quest to get back on the transplant list this year. Thanks to all who’ve donated over the years to this - it’s been more than helpful over the past 8 years.

Thanks so much for considering donating to this campaign. Steve is a great guy and he'… Shawn Mills needs your support for Help with Steve's kidney transplant

12/03/2025

December update posted on my GoFundMe! You can check it out and read it right here.

Thanks so much for considering donating to this campaign. Steve is a great guy and he'… Shawn Mills needs your support for Help with Steve's kidney transplant

10/18/2025

I’ve got an MRI coming up on the 30th; I was supposed to have one on the 7th, but when I showed up at the center, it turns out that it was far too narrow for me… my shoulders were practically touching the sides of the bore, so they rescheduled me for a different location that has a larger bore and an open MRI… I have had them before in the past, and I dealt with the mild claustrophobia, but that one was too much. I hope this next one isn’t too bad. They need to take a look at my back and Spine and see how much my herniation’s at L4-L5-S1 have deteriorated. And maybe I can get some help & relief. My mobility is seriously affected now - I am having a lot of difficulty getting around and I’m in a lot of pain all the time. Trying to get these things taken care of is always such a runaround too, but hopefully in time it can be taken care of. This is one of those moments where I tell everyone to cherish their good health and mobility… when all of a sudden is gone and everything changes, it can be a real upheaval to your life. For me, you add that in with everything else that I have to deal with and… it definitely takes a toll on you. But baby steps for now and this MRI is definitely one of them. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Taking care of my back and getting back on the transplant lists are my goals for 2026. It’s frustrating that things take so much time but if I can improve my mobility and get another kidney transplant, I may yet catch my third wind in this life!!! Again I wanna thank everybody who follows me and helps out - there are so many people out there that do me favors, and have been generous and donating to things like my GoFundMe. It is really kept me going over the years and I am lucky that I have such amazing people in my circle of life.

10/16/2025

Updated and more about my future in dialysis and a trip to Rochester to visit the transplant clinic at Strong Memorial Hospital l! Check it out here - and, as always, thanks for your help & support.

Thanks so much for considering donating to this campaign. Steve is a great guy and he'… Shawn Mills needs your support for Help with Steve's kidney transplant

09/19/2025

I’ve got an MRI coming up in October now; my spine has been damaged for years but all this time in Dialysis is really aggravating it. It’s gotten to the point where my entire left leg is numb, and I cannot lift it very high. It’s a hard sensation to describe - it was both numb and painful; I cannot feel normal sensations, but I do feel pain. It is also become increasingly hard to walk, and I have been struggling with that since I got out of the hospital earlier this year. For a time I used a wheelchair and a walker. Now I only use a cane, but that has been through a lot of work. My spine doctor wants to have a new MRI taken because my old one is a few years out of date and they want to have a more more recent picture to decide what kind of treatment I’m going to have going forward. Getting an MRI is never fun, especially when you are claustrophobic. I am not looking forward to it. I am looking forward to trying to get my back and legs in better condition.

Thanks so much for considering donating to this campaign. Steve is a great guy and he'… Shawn Mills needs your support for Help with Steve's kidney transplant

07/21/2025

Just some more writing from me; a middle of the night mind dribble about small beautiful moments.

I’m 14 years old. I’ve been playing guitar for a few years, but I was struggling to get better. I played my guitar any chance I could get, ...

07/09/2025

I posted an update about a recent milestone - two years of being back on dialysis. You can read more at the link in the first comment. Thanks for sticking with me.