Why this blog?

Welcome! Thank you for visiting my blog!

This is my medical and recreational blogsite. Some of the entries on this blog are honest and quite vulnerable, as I wrote them at my lowest point. I try to keep a positive outlook on life, because no one wants to hang out with a downer, including me. Writing these entries has allowed me to see the world through a beneficial filter that allows me to appreciate every moment I have been able to experience in my life, even the difficult ones.

My husband Matthew and I LIVE when we can. I mean we suck the juice out of life, and we aren't ashamed of that outlook. It makes the bad times ok somehow because we took advantage when we were able. The pictures on this blog are part of that. I take pretty pictures of my sick body to boost my self esteem when I am having a difficult time seeing myself as a woman instead of a sick person. It is how I cope with my illness, and no one gets to judge how you survive your difficulties. So live on, and feed your souls.

Watch our story here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG_mrDJ10LM&feature=youtu.be


~ Tonia

I have decided to relaunch my Facebook Page, The Beauty in Illness. Along with the help of two other rare patient advocates, we are hoping to include artistic stories of struggle and perseverence through creative ways. Please check us out and let us know if you would like to contribute!




Hospital Me THEN (2012)

Hospital Me THEN (2012)
Dance like no one is watching!

Hospital me NOW (2015)

Hospital me NOW (2015)
Dance like EVERYONE'S watching

Post Transplant-1 Year (March 2014)

Post Transplant-1 Year (March 2014)
Mi Amor Studio

Pre Dialysis Pinup Shoot (2012)

Pre Dialysis Pinup Shoot (2012)
Dynamite Dames

Mid Dialysis Boudoir (March 2013)

Mid Dialysis Boudoir (March 2013)
100 pounds, and a week from transplant, chest tube tucked into bra like a lady. ;)

Non-Pinup Me Now (2015)

Non-Pinup Me Now (2015)
This girl has four kidneys

Friday, May 10, 2013

Post transplant photos!

Hello everyone!  Here is the update for our recovery:

Everything is going amazingly well with the kidney and the aHUS.  All of my numbers are solid, and I am getting around much more these days.  Matthew is doing great also and we are looking forward to summer at this point.  Even our social lives have come back, just in time for Thunder playoffs!

I did go back to three pole dancing classes, but my abs just weren't ready.  I got scared because hernias are a possibility if I overwork the incision site before it is completely healed.  So I had to pause pole for a bit.  But I will be back as soon as I can!  And after that: aerial silks!

So here are my boudoir pictures I had taken six weeks after the transplant.  As you can see I have gained some weight, but I think it's all good.  My curves have come back, and I can't say I mind about my butt having some cushion.  :)

The photographer photoshopped my transplant scar, so I am working on getting it back in the pictures.  It's important to me. But here you go:










 
 

So we keep moving forward!