Nephrologist

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the nephrologist (kidney specialist) to see if anything is wrong with my kidneys. I've been feeling really apprehensive about it, because there are a large number of different things that could be wrong, or it could be nothing. Hopefully I will know the answer to that tomorrow.

When I went to the doctor to get my medical paperwork filled out for Carnival, they of course did a urinalysis test for drugs and other things. The results showed that there was a lot of protein, which isn't normal. So next, I had to do something called a 24 hour urine test, and yep you guessed it. I had to collect every single time I had to pee for 24 hours. That was fun. That test showed pretty much the same thing, so my doctor has referred me to a specialist to figure out what is going on.


The things it could be include: kidney failure, glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney cells that filter waste from the blood), heart disease, Lupus, Malaria, Leukemia, Sickle cell anemia, and a few others. It could be any of those things, or it could be none of them. One possibility is that I have a benign (or not) tumor.

The good news is that my blood work is showing that my kidneys are functioning normally, and I don't have any symptoms (pain in my lower back, etc.) So I'm very hopeful that it is actually nothing, but there is always the possibility that it is something. I've played out in my head the worst possible scenario which includes me having something that would prevent me from working for Carnival and being stuck in NC. I'm just hoping and praying that is not the case.

I have too many things I want to do, and dreams I plan to follow, sick or not. So if this is something big and life changing, I refuse to let it hold me back. I will not pity myself, I will instead find an alternate route to my goals. And that is the promise I have made to myself.