In every life there come moments where you realize that everything that was true yesterday is NOT true today. April 21st was one of those days.....
On April 20th I took my 11 year old daughter to the doctor for a routine camp physical. Now, I'm a physician myself, and it is always just a bit of challenge for me to refrain from filling in these forms myself. But I am smart enough to have picked a family doc (formerly one of my partners) who is an even bigger bully than I am and he'd likely KILL me if I did.
"Any problems?" he asks.
"Nah. She's healthy, eats like a horse and is doing great in school. But over the winter she would complain of being cold in the evenings."
"Cold?"
"Yup. Wrap-up-in-a-blanket cold. Teeth chattering and all."
Some discussion ensued. Since my daughter was adopted from Guatemala and we have no relevant medical or family history, he opted to do some obvious tests (iron, thyroid) and some screening for general health (metbolic panel, cholesterol). The lab drew the blood and we went on with our day.
On the 21st I got a call from the doctor's wife, also a doctor and a partner in the practice. "Dee, I REALLY hate to be the one to tell you this. I have some bad news for you."
Kidney failure. Chronic. Setting up an appointment at the nearest center. Needs transplant. Anemia.
The words I heard, I think, but parts of my brain and all of my heart simply STOPPED. And parts of them haven't started back up again since.
So......travel with me if you like. I'll try and add a little a few times a week and bring you up to date on where we are on the journey.
DeeDee
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