I had a new birthday on November 14. That was the anniversary of my first full year with a new kidney.

There's no way I can describe the gratitude and joy that I feel. People ask how long it took to recover. That recovery continues, because it has taken me far beyond the health of even two years before the transplant. In fact, best I can judge, I'm ten years younger than when the surgeon marked the spot with his felt pen.

There's the end of 30 years of increasingly frequent and debilitating headaches, down from virtually one a week to zero a year. Then there's the bright energy running through me most days, and nights.

Now is yet another stage of recovery or healing. In this phase is the forgetting on many days that it ever happened. My inner awareness has seen a subtle shadow lift. I used to carry a sense that something debilitating and downward spiralling was headed my way. Even after Shivon stepped forth with the miracle gift of her kidney, there should be life altering hindrances, symptoms, regimes, containments, symptoms, side effects, or emotional challenges that came along with such a major intervention in my body. All side effects are minor and dwarfed by the whole system upgrade.

The psycho emotional and spiritual aspects of walking around with a more "normal" case of mortality, that I will die one day that could be decades from now, is unexpected and precious. How can this be? There's little choice for me than to interpret it all as a gift that must be dedicated to service.

There is a blessing itself in a health crisis story that turns out well. We each face tragedies all around us, increasingly as we age and our friends and family deteriorate. The blessing of being the protagonist in one of those stories that is a big success, challenges me in fascinating and wonderful ways.

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For more information about Joel and Shivon's kidney transplant see Kidney Beings. To register to become an organ donor, visit BC Transplant Society.