Idling Kidney

[+ Orin]

Back in 2014, I had some lab work, and my GP panicked: the results indicated that I had kidney trouble. Soon after, I had imagery, which revealed stones, and had them removed. They were made of sodium oxalates, so I needed to restrict some things from my diet. Spinach, you say? Can't stand the stuff, so no problem. But almonds? Geez. And salt, too. But you can get used to that.

Anyway, I needed a nephrologist. The one I was recommended by my GP had a hell of an attitude, though. The guy said my kidneys will only get worse, there's no cure, only dialysis treatments, and I'll eventually die from kidney failure. Needless to say, I found another nephrologist.

Some time later, I had some more imagery. This time, to see how they were functioning. It was interesting to watch. The one on my right side was working pretty well, but the one on my left was stuck at idle, about 5% of normal. So the plan was to keep an eye on function with regular lab work, and keep hydrated.

Now it's 2025, six years after a triple by-pass that was not triggered by a heart attack, and I'm still flying with one mostly working kidney, one kidney idling, and my labs stable or getting slowly better.

I have to conclude that there's more money to be made with dialysis centers than would be made from some drug that hasn't been developed.

I guess I'll celebrate my 74th this month by seeing if I can best my top walking speed, 4.3 mph,  on my 2.4 mile walks around the neighborhood hills.