The Cost of Waiting
AI-generated editorial illustration for 'The Cost of Waiting'; not a documentary image of Dr. Joshua L. Cohen or the events described.
My name is Dr. Joshua L. Cohen. I am a media psychologist, an author, and the founder of Your Digital Storytelling Project. I also live with end-stage kidney disease. Four times a week, I undergo dialysis. Dialysis sustains my life while I pursue a kidney transplant. This is not an abstract policy question. My time, health, and ability to remain connected with potential donors matter.
How I got here
Years ago, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed lithium. My nephrologists have attributed my kidney failure to that treatment. That wording reflects their attribution; this essay is not an independent medical report. I am sharing my own account, not asking readers to draw medical conclusions from it.
The appointments. The dialysis. The financial strain. And the uncertainty of what comes next.
But my story isn't only about illness.
It's about what happens when someone fighting to stay alive must also navigate complicated financial and administrative systems.
AI-generated editorial illustration for 'The Cost of Waiting'; not a documentary image of Dr. Joshua L. Cohen or the events described.
The connection made through storytelling
Your Digital Storytelling Project did not become the business success I once imagined. But something extraordinary happened.
Through my online storytelling presence, a person who may be willing to donate a kidney found me.
That contact is not proof of eligibility, donor approval, or a scheduled transplant. I do not know what will come of it. What I can say is that the possibility of a connection matters to me. It gives a practical reason to care about keeping my public storytelling presence accessible while other matters are being reviewed.
What began as a professional mission became something deeply personal.
A possible pathway toward a transplant.
A reminder that the value of a human story cannot always be measured in dollars.
AI-generated editorial illustration for 'The Cost of Waiting'; not a documentary image of Dr. Joshua L. Cohen or the events described.
A story alongside unresolved obligations
In October 2026, I received an IRS collection notice concerning an older business tax period from 2016. I also received a California Franchise Tax Board request concerning a 2022 return for a second company. These are separate, older business matters and distinct from my current operating company.
I am working to determine what was filed, what may be owed, and how the older entities should be resolved or closed. I am not asking anyone to disregard legitimate obligations. I am asking for the opportunity to verify the records and address the matters properly.
Neither notice itself orders me to close my storytelling website. There is currently no documented requirement to remove it.
These notices do not establish any immediate threat to my donor outreach, and I am not alleging unlawful conduct. My concern is ensuring that unresolved administrative matters do not create avoidable obstacles while I pursue a transplant. This essay is not a legal finding. The claims and records remain matters for review.
AI-generated editorial illustration for 'The Cost of Waiting'; not a documentary image of Dr. Joshua L. Cohen or the events described.
My student-loan funding also remains unresolved. I depend on disability-related financial support while managing dialysis and pursuing a transplant. These circumstances affect how I approach outstanding obligations; they do not establish what is legally owed or determine how any review should conclude.
I want to cooperate.
I want accurate records.
And I want a fair opportunity to resolve these matters without unnecessarily disrupting the work that connects me with potential donors.
AI-generated editorial illustration for 'The Cost of Waiting'; not a documentary image of Dr. Joshua L. Cohen or the events described.
The film
I made a digital story to explain why preserving donor outreach matters to me. Counsel review of the film and its claims is pending.
The Cost of Waiting: a digital story by Dr. Joshua L. Cohen.
The film is my account, not a substitute for medical records, tax records, legal advice, or independent review. Its illustrations are stylized; they are not documentary images of me, a donor, or the notices. I am not presenting the film as evidence or claiming that it has been admitted or authenticated in any proceeding. Those questions belong to counsel and the relevant decision-makers.
This is advocacy through storytelling, not a clinical intervention. The medium itself is not the therapist. We can make filmmaking more therapeutic without turning filmmaking into therapy. Here, the film's purpose is to communicate my perspective while claims and records are reviewed.
Why I am telling this story
AI-generated editorial illustration for 'The Cost of Waiting'; not a documentary image of Dr. Joshua L. Cohen or the events described.
I understand that laws and financial obligations matter.
But human lives matter, too.
I'm asking that my circumstances be considered carefully, that the records be reviewed, and that my ability to reach potential kidney donors be preserved while these issues are addressed.
Because someone found me through a story I chose to share.
And that connection may one day help save my life.
I've spent my career helping people tell their stories.
Now I'm telling mine.
Not because I know how it ends.
But because I still believe in the possibility of a different ending.
The cost of waiting isn't always measured in money.
Sometimes, it's measured in the time we have left.
Dr. Cohen's current coaching, consulting, and educational services are nonclinical and do not constitute psychotherapy, psychological treatment, or a substitute for care from a licensed mental-health professional.