'If I'm going to drop dead, I'd rather be at home': Grave health issues force owner of Wuddup Dog in Cambridge to lock doors – Waterloo Region Record

Sign In
This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com
It’s a decision Todd Johns doesn’t relish.
After suffering seizures inside his restaurant back in August due to failing kidneys, the owner of Wuddup Dog in Cambridge couldn’t stomach another day.
“If I’m going to drop dead, I’d rather be at home with the family than at a little weiner restaurant,” Johns said.
With that, Johns closed up shop. He told the Times in the spring that he was looking to sell the restaurant name, equipment and recipes for $150,000 – hoping someone new would take over the lease – to take care of his diabetes-related health issues. However, time ran out.
The decision to close though didn’t come without consequences. He’s currently going through the process of filing for bankruptcy.
On top of that, just over two weeks ago, Johns went to the emergency room at Grand River Hospital, his weight ballooning by 50 pounds due to water retention. His kidneys were functioning at eight per cent. They inserted him with a dialysis port, with treatment at the hospital three days a week until he is set up at home.
Johns said he is on the transplant list for not only a new kidney, but a new pancreas. If successful, the transplant will get rid of the diabetes altogether. He noted he’s had offers for a live kidney donor, but the double-organ transplant leaves him waiting. He figures he’s looking at five to seven years.
“If they’re going to cut me open, they might as well get everything fixed, right?”
The other issue Johns is facing from the diabetes is blindness in one eye. He has had surgery, which slightly improved his sight, and he goes back in for more work on Nov. 1. Procedures, complete with sticking needles in his eyeball, he said, will come every six weeks.
After shedding most of the water weight and getting the treatment he needs, Johns said he’s using his new-found time to go back to his “roots.”
Whenever he’s not too exhausted from dialysis or spending time with his daughter, Johns said he’s been fixing up a 16-foot trailer and transforming it into a food truck. He’s planning on rolling it out in a couple weeks with licensing for private events in Waterloo Region. He said he’s already had a city microbrewery offer to let him set up shop on the weekends during the winter.
“When dialysis isn’t kicking my butt and I can work, I’ll work. But if I can’t work because of it for a day, it doesn’t cost me any money to not open the doors.”
While Johns wouldn’t say which establishment has made the offer, he has worked with Rhythm & Brews in the past.
“I didn’t say that,” he added with a laugh.
But don’t expect to see a Wuddup Dog weenie wagon on Bishop Street. Johns said it’s time for a name and menu change. The food truck will serve hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers, Mexican street corn and a couple desserts. Fries are on the horizon.
While Johns keeps pushing forward, he encourages people to sign their organ donor cards to help more people in his position. He’s also looking forward to one day being healthy enough to live life for someone other than himself.
“My daughter’s only five. I want to be there when she’s 50,” Johns said.
Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

source