In 2010 my world came to a quick stop. I ended up in emergency and was told both my kidneys were shutting down. To my ears that meant death. It was hard to get my brain to focus on what was happening and what the medical team was telling me. Bloodwork was taken every few hours to see whether I was stabilizing. I remember telling the lab tech to pray before he did the results so it would show improvement. Then something happened I got mad within and said to myself you are too young and you need to fight! You have your future ahead of you and so much work still to be done to help others. You need to be apart of your kids journey and your future grandkids.
But what did the future really look like? The medical team said I would need to be on many prescriptions and learn to live with my limitations. Well that didn't sound great! What other options did I have?
The first step was TAKING CONTROL OF MY HEALTH. That meant understanding and doing research on what was happening in my body from a cellular health, organ system and lymphatic system. All of that would result in many hours of research and taking courses to better understand how to help my body and then help others.
I had never really paid attention to all the medical test results but I realized that was going to be my only way of monitoring whether what I was doing with my diet, physical activity and stress level management was helping improve my kidneys. I have copies of all my medical lab tests and other tests even EKG's that were taken at the hospital. I took a course on how to understand medical lab results. That allowed me to understand where I needed the various ranges to be in my lab results to support my kidneys.
This personal journey also meant numerous times I would go against the advice of the medical team. Nothing was going into my body that I hadn't researched and understood the side effects. There were a few times that these decisions saved my kidneys from further damage.
Fast forward 9 years after being treated and monitored under a kidney specialist, I was discharged from his care. Why? Because my bloodwork was excellent. Kidney function was way better than they had ever thought possible. There's no blame put on the medical system they gave me options and their opinions they felt were best based on their education. The key factor here is I had the choice. Yes I received a lot of pressure with some of my decisions but it still was my choice.
Our body's are amazing if we understand what is needed to support our body. Learning about our immune system, cellular health, lymphatic system (which is huge!) is key to keeping our body's in a healthy state.
There are those of us that have taken the journey to help others and give people options in their health journey but the "KEY" is you need to be in charge of your health. Do your research! If you just want a quick fix that also is choice. All I ask is you stop and think about the bigger picture of where you want your future to end up. Don't let fear and pressure decide your health journey. Gather all the information you need regarding your health and make your own decision and respect those that decide to do the same. When it comes to other people you may not always agree with their choices but that is their decision. Love them and support them.
We only live this life once. Make it a good one!