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Kidney recipient plans nonprofit to assist others through crisis By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
LARRY WEISSMAN/PROVIDED
Larry Weissman, his wife Bonnie Weissman and their son Dave Weissman wear T-shirts that speak to Larry’s kidney transplant experience. Around 20 years after he was diagnosed with kidney disease, Larry received a kidney from Dave.
ROSWELL, Ga. — Larry Weissman did not know the severity of his kidney disease until it was almost too late. In 2001, Weissman was diagnosed during a quarterly check-up for his type 2 diabetes. It came as a surprise. As an ex-jock who tried to keep in shape, he said he felt fine. “I’m a guy. I don’t ask for directions. I feel good, right? I was feeling good,” Weissman said. “I made the very almost fatal mistake of not really paying attention.” He experienced no symptoms — not uncommon for those with the disease, and for the next two decades, he continued to feel healthy. But, in 2022, a nephrologist called him. The kidney specialist told Weissman his kidney function was down to around
Roswell downtown parking deck lands on Green Street Officials buy SharpShooters USA facility for public safety operations By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — After decades of discussion about adding a public parking deck downtown, the Roswell City Council approved a plan March 11 to make it happen on a triangular stretch of land bordered by Green Street and Ga. 9.
The council’s meeting Monday evening was the first time details about the location of the parking deck as well as the “Green Street Activation Plan” had been brought to the public for review, though the council purchased two properties in the area at its previous regular meeting as part of an “economic development strategy.” The plan includes converting Green Street to one-way traffic southbound from Woodstock Street, closing Plum Tree Street for a 10-foot, shared-use path to
Canton Street, creating a new connecting street north of the parking deck and Ga. 9 as well as a 10-foot, shared-use path on the eastern side of Green Street to wrap around the project site. There will also be pedestrian plaza areas. The location for the parking deck, the Green Street Activation Plan and the authorization to acquire property for the project were approved unanimously in
See DECK, Page 24
3 percent and that he would have to come in for tests right away because his other organs may start to fail. Weissman soon started to lose vision in his left eye, had problems with taste and had low energy. “I was scared to death,” Weissman said. “I’m a pretty tough guy from the eastside of Cleveland, and I’m crying like a little kid. ‘This is it. You work all your life, then you die.’” For the better part of 2022, Weissman didn’t leave the house to avoid the risk of infection — the COVID-19 pandemic was still in full swing. While at home, undergoing dialysis, he struggled to do basic things, dealt with cramps and “nuclear-powered” headaches. Weissman relied on his wife Bonnie to take care of him as he waited for a donor. Close to three dozen people
See KIDNEY, Page 22
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