I woke up this morning and felt pretty good except for the continual pain I had been feeling in my back and leg due to sciatic nerve difficulties. I was happy that I had gotten through the ugly part of my physical the day before (blood test, I hate needles) and had gotten a script for some physical therapy.
The therapy went well and within a few hours, I was actually walking without a limp (not bad considering I had walked into the therapy with a cane.) However, everything was going to change at about 11 o’clock that morning. My doctor had been frantically trying to get in touch with me leaving messages at every telephone number that I had given him. It seems that my blood test came back with some frightening results.
It appeared that I was in acute renal failure. Somewhat a surprise to me as I had not had any pain and was urinating just fine. I immediately went to the nearest hospital and got through the emergency waiting room very quickly. Apparently, potential heart attack victims (something I didn’t know at the time) get through pretty quickly.
It didn’t take long for them to start punching me full of holes as more blood was needed and I needed an IV. Remember, I don’t like needles. It took them four tries to get the IV in. The blood came back with the same results and my blood pressure was sky high (imagine that, high blood pressure right after being told to get to the hospital immediately.)
A Nephrologist (kidney doctor for those of you that have been lucky enough to not go through this), Dr. Donn Hogan met with my family and me within a few hours and gave us a rundown of what was happening and what was going to happen. I like the guy, very much straightforward and to the point.
Since they were short 8 beds at the time, I was sent up to an outpatient cardiac area and hooked up to a machine that constantly took my heart vitals. My two sons ran out to get me some good old greasy Kentucky Fried Chicken. Since I hadn’t eaten anything all day, I was ready for some real food. However, I quickly discovered that being attached to a heart monitor and knowing that my kidneys were only working at about 10% of the capabilities made me lose my appetite. If I had known where my diet was going the next day, I think I would have managed to choke down a little more.
Finally around 10 PM I got a room on the cardiac floor. They took my blood again and gave me a shot in the stomach to help fight the anemia that comes with the kidney failure. What a great way to end a TGIF.
As I was shocked at hearing about my diagnosis so were you. It is a life changing diagnosis. We are a part of a special community that no one ever thought they would become a part of. Continue to keep the faith and trust God for better days. My motto is enjoy life to the the fullest. Don't put off tomorrow what I can do today.
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