By Alex Baran,
Project Weight Loss Staff Writer
November 10, 2009George Lopez did a great job during his show, “Lopez Tonight.” His first celebrity guests
were Eva Longoria and Kobe Bryant, which Lopez had known for years. Between laughs, people had time to enjoy Santana’s
songs as well. After everything he’s been through, he didn’t lose his sense of humor.
A few years ago George needed a kidney transplant. His loving wife offered him one of hers. So he went with Ann to a hospital from Los Angeles and had the surgeries, according to WebMD. “To me, this was about us, about our daughter, Mayan. But George, he comes from a very dysfunctional family, a horrific childhood. It was hard for him to accept that someone would give him the gift of life,” said Ann Lopez.
Even though he was tired and he knew about his disease, George continued to work on his show. The work released him from his suffering. “When you’re performing on stage, there’s a weightlessness. You’re without pain,” he said.
His disease occurred because a congenital abnormality. His kidneys had never worked properly. When he arrived at the hospital, George’s kidneys were barely functioning. The kidney’s main function is to filter the bloodstream. When they don’t work well, kidneys are being poisoned, coming on their failure.
There were signs of his disease, but he didn’t deal with them. At only 17, he had high blood pressure. It’s not normal that someone so young would have hypertension. Growing up, he didn’t bother to check what’s with the fatigue that was taking over him either. “Latinos, we only go to the doctor when we are bleeding. We forget about things internal. Fatigue is just fatigue,” he said.
The most common cause of kidney failure is diabetes, followed by high blood pressure. This disease kills almost 70,000 people each year. There’s nothing to joke about. You don’t have to wait for the worst moment to change your attitude. “Me? I’d go to the doctor in a minute now,” thinks George after the surgery.
When tests proved Ann was a perfect donor for her husband, she started training to get into the best shape before the operation. To be sure his body does not reject her kidney, George took his daily medications, exercised more, cut out fast food, and went to doctor monthly.
The surgery was a success, but one of the medications George took had side effects: sometimes he had hand tremors, which gave him hard time to play his favorite game, golf, or even lift a glass of water. This happened for a period of time. After a while the tremors cleared, his humor returned, and he loosened up.
Regular medical check-ups could prevent situations like George’s and wouldn’t put you or your family in a critic situation. For your own sake, follow George’s advice: “You need to go! You need to get your blood checked. That can tell you so much.”
©2009
Project Weight Loss. All rights reserved.
