Post by That 80s Guy on Jul 30, 2013 13:09:49 GMT -5
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Hey everyone!
I've recently come back to the boards here, after a lengthily absence. And thought I would share a brief example of why I've been away and what this thread is concerning...
Back in 2006, while training to become a pro wrestler, I became very ill one day (temperature rise, weak, tired, no appetite) - and I wasn't sure what the problem was. That night, when I did gain the strength to get up and take a leak, my urine was a lot darker than normal (which nearly freaked me out!). Luckily, I returned home after a couple weeks (from ND, was training in MI). However, only after a month of being home, I started feeling aches and pains in my lower back, so a biopsy was performed. I was eventually diagnosed with IGA kidney disease. With proper medications, it was control-able, and I was able to resume a normal life (working labor jobs, wrestling shows all throughout ND).
However, the day before Christmas eve, this past 2012 - I came down with influenza. My kidneys started going down hill a lot quicker than they have been, over recent years (which was just a gradual decline). So badly, that this past January, I had to retire from the ring (just 6 weeks after participating in a TNA IMPACT's Gut Check seminar). It was heartbreaking, but the disease was started to take it's toll on me, greatly affecting my blood pressure and water retainment. Come February, I was getting a lot weaker, and on the night of the 21st, I collapsed in my home and was rushed to the ER. I felt myself dying that night and I was very close to passing away, according to doctors.
My kidneys had gone into permanent failure, so much that just a month prior, they were operating at 30% and being int he ER that night, they were tested to be operating on 7% - which is quite a drop.
I'm now a kidney dialysis patient, having to visit a dialysis ward every Tues., Thurs., and Sat. (in fact, I'm typing this while dialyzing). Dialysis is the process of cleaning out your blood, a function the kidneys normally do on their own, but with failure, the machine you're hooked up substitutes the kidney's responsibilities. I also have to watch my fluid/water intake, and drink no more than 1 liter of any liquid (water, juice, soda, beer, ect) a day.
Tomorrow (7/31) I start the process of getting my name on a transplant list. Only nature knows if I'll get to see that day, as I've learned 20 people die daily, while waiting for transplants (this includes kidney patients, such as myself).
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My story is just one of many, but I thought I would share it with everybody here at WF - in the hopes that if you're reading this, you take the time to get yourself checked. It was dormant in my system all my life, but decided to rear it's ugly head at the worst possible time in my life (1 week before my 1st ever single's match). I was only 26 when I was diagnosed, and now at 32, with the scare of almost dying back in February, I take life just 1 day at a time, so I too can overcome this disease with a successful transplant.
275 people in America, on average, are diagnosed with a kidney disease on a daily basis. The sooner you check yourself, the better your treatment options are in prolonging what I'm currently going through.
Ask to see your nearest nephrologist, or visit Kidneyfund.org for more information.
Hey everyone!
I've recently come back to the boards here, after a lengthily absence. And thought I would share a brief example of why I've been away and what this thread is concerning...
Back in 2006, while training to become a pro wrestler, I became very ill one day (temperature rise, weak, tired, no appetite) - and I wasn't sure what the problem was. That night, when I did gain the strength to get up and take a leak, my urine was a lot darker than normal (which nearly freaked me out!). Luckily, I returned home after a couple weeks (from ND, was training in MI). However, only after a month of being home, I started feeling aches and pains in my lower back, so a biopsy was performed. I was eventually diagnosed with IGA kidney disease. With proper medications, it was control-able, and I was able to resume a normal life (working labor jobs, wrestling shows all throughout ND).
However, the day before Christmas eve, this past 2012 - I came down with influenza. My kidneys started going down hill a lot quicker than they have been, over recent years (which was just a gradual decline). So badly, that this past January, I had to retire from the ring (just 6 weeks after participating in a TNA IMPACT's Gut Check seminar). It was heartbreaking, but the disease was started to take it's toll on me, greatly affecting my blood pressure and water retainment. Come February, I was getting a lot weaker, and on the night of the 21st, I collapsed in my home and was rushed to the ER. I felt myself dying that night and I was very close to passing away, according to doctors.
My kidneys had gone into permanent failure, so much that just a month prior, they were operating at 30% and being int he ER that night, they were tested to be operating on 7% - which is quite a drop.
I'm now a kidney dialysis patient, having to visit a dialysis ward every Tues., Thurs., and Sat. (in fact, I'm typing this while dialyzing). Dialysis is the process of cleaning out your blood, a function the kidneys normally do on their own, but with failure, the machine you're hooked up substitutes the kidney's responsibilities. I also have to watch my fluid/water intake, and drink no more than 1 liter of any liquid (water, juice, soda, beer, ect) a day.
Tomorrow (7/31) I start the process of getting my name on a transplant list. Only nature knows if I'll get to see that day, as I've learned 20 people die daily, while waiting for transplants (this includes kidney patients, such as myself).
--
My story is just one of many, but I thought I would share it with everybody here at WF - in the hopes that if you're reading this, you take the time to get yourself checked. It was dormant in my system all my life, but decided to rear it's ugly head at the worst possible time in my life (1 week before my 1st ever single's match). I was only 26 when I was diagnosed, and now at 32, with the scare of almost dying back in February, I take life just 1 day at a time, so I too can overcome this disease with a successful transplant.
275 people in America, on average, are diagnosed with a kidney disease on a daily basis. The sooner you check yourself, the better your treatment options are in prolonging what I'm currently going through.
Ask to see your nearest nephrologist, or visit Kidneyfund.org for more information.
