Update to students

Hey gang,

I'm sorry this has taken so long to get to you. I still don't know how coherent it will be--I'm on some medications that make me REALLY sleepy, but I'll do my best.

As most of you know, I had a surgery on December 21 to bypass my aorta and get better blood flow to my legs. This surgery is going to make my life so much better! The surgery was successful, and the surgeon feels that everything went as planned.

As I was recuperating in the hospital, my surgeon came in with some bad news. He said that my blood work was showing that my kidneys were failing. Two days later I started on dialysis and have been having those treatments three times a weeks since then.

We are hopeful that the dialysis treatments will "wake up" my kidneys and that this will be just a temporary thing. For those of you who don't know, the kidneys filter all of the bad stuff out of your blood, so when they're not working, the bad stuff builds up. A dialysis machine takes all of the blood out of my body, filters it, and then puts it back in. The treatments leave me tired, but are supposed to get better.

Until my kidneys start working again, I won't be able to come back to work. It's killing me (not literally, but emotionally) to not be with you all. I am SO grateful for those of you who have made the best out of a situation that is not ideal. I was disappointed to hear that a few of our band leaders chose to skip out on band last week. I hope you know that what Mr. Morgan is doing is for the best...always. He cares for the band and wants you to do well. I am grateful for him. As we all say, "Man up, and move on."

I'll do my best to keep you updated. I sleep most of the time, but am slowly starting to get my energy back. Thanks so much for your positive attitudes and for working to get it done in my absence.