Years ago, when our youngest was in grade school, we were invited to the spring concert. I wrote about that awful experience in a newspaper article later posted as a blog titled, The Banned Concert. (Click on Banned Concert)
About 20 years ago I was diagnosed with both kidney disease and diabetes. Some doctors believe both were caused by a bout with lead poisoning I was exposed to a decade and a half before. At the time I was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, better known as FSGS. Not that you care, here is the description. FSGS is a rare disease that attacks the kidney’s filtering units (glomeruli) causing serious scarring which leads to permanent kidney damage and even failure. FSGS is one of the causes of a serious condition known as Nephrotic Syndrome. Focal = some, Segmental = sections, Glomerulo = of kidney filters, Sclerosis = are scarred. That was easy, wasn’t it?
My kidneys lasted about 15 years after diagnoses. My nephrologist (kidney doctor) was surprised they lasted more than a year and believed their longevity could be attributed to prayer. For years and years, my kidneys got less and less productive. Finally, on April 1, 2014, (Happy April Fool’s Day) I went on dialysis. Most commonly dialysis is a procedure that involves having large needles inserted in your arm and then you are hooked to the dialyzer and one’s blood is circulated through the machine for around four hours. The entire procedure lasts around five hours.
The average patient leaves dialysis feeling like 15 pounds of homemade sin on a popsicle stick. Usually, a nap is in order and little else than couch time happens for the rest of the day. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have been working full time even after I started dialysis. It has been an interesting challenge. As time and treatments have worn on, on dialysis days I have become more and more “zombified”. I am up and walking but not much is happening. As a detective on the police department I serve said not long ago, “You’re weird when you have dialysis.” That pretty much sums it up.
At 71, I just barely ducked under the upper age requirement to qualify for a kidney transplant. It gets better. I have a matching donor. He is my nephew Tim and we are such a great match that the surgeon told me that I have a greatly reduced risk of rejection. It goes without saying that Tim has moved to the top of my list of favorite nephews. He is an amazing man with as kind of a heart as his father, my big brother, had.
The surgery date has been set. People ask me if I am frightened or anxious. I am not… not for me. I am concerned for Tim. Above all, my prayers are for Tim to come out of this procedure healthy as a horse and experience a rapid recovery.
Keep us in your prayers and I will bore you with the details of my recovery.
Copyright © 2018, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved
Bill McConnell is the Interim Minister at Norwood Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a Church Transformation consultant and a Christian Leadership Coach. He is a frequent speaker at Church Transformation events. His latest book on church transformation is DEVELOPING A SIGNIFICANT CHURCH and is available at Westbow Press.
He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon
