Doctor, Doctor Part One
You should know about my doctors…I have many.
I first came in contact with the nephrologists on May of ’07. After weeks of trying to find out why I was so sick my family doctor sent me to the hospital in an emergency situation. At this point I was not able to keep food down and was very week. My doctor had done a lot of tests but always got negative results. He kept testing with no luck. I got sicker. Finally something suspicious showed itself in one of my blood tests. My potassium was sky high which was a sign of kidney trouble but also was at the danger level for heart failure.
The specialists were as puzzled as my family doctor. They knew my kidneys had failed but they didn’t know why. They put me on emergency dialysis while they ran more tests. Their test results were also coming back negative. They finally did a kidney biopsy and those results showed I had P-Anca Vasculitis which was now dormant but had left enough scar tissue that my kidneys were no longer functioning. Their diagnosis was that my kidneys wouldn’t heal.
When I first got to the hospital they were poking and prodding all over the place! They kept telling me how sick I was. One of the emergency doctors leaned in close to me to tell me that they were testing for things like leukemia and lupus. How is it when you are sick, people need to get in your face to talk to you as though you have lost your hearing? Do they think their news has greater impact if you can smell their breath when they break it to you? If the diagnosis doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, the fact that they had garlic for lunch surely will!
In spite of that I was grateful for all the experts who were diligent about helping me survive. Eventually I was sent to the dialysis unit. I soon came to realize that I was in the best of hands and I surrendered myself to the nurses and doctors who knew so much about dialysis and the kidneys. Everything they did made me feel better. Not only did they look after me they were also concerned about Larry and the kids. We all felt safe in their hands.
The thing that stands out to me is that while they all were working so hard to make me feel better, they were constantly reminding me how sick I was. “You are very sick, Mrs. Dancey.” “You are a very sick person.” “Your kidneys won’t heal. You might as well face it.” “You should get a transplant.”
Those words met on deaf ears. Wait a second… maybe they had good reason to think I was deaf. Still, that is no excuse for all that garlic at lunch!
I choose to ignore the dialogue of what others think my body is capable of. I will focus on healing. I’m willing do anything to make that happen. I believe our bodies are capable of great things if we open our minds to the endless possibilities. I’m excited about this experience and the people that kidney failure has brought into my life. I look forward to learning how to have a future of good health and good wealth. I’m grateful you are allowing me to share my discoveries with you.
Until next time, take care. MD