Unexpected Turns in Life
A routine physical. That was what we were going in for. Eli had transferred High schools so his new school needed an updated physical within 30 days of enrollment. I picked Tanner up (our 11 year old) from School at 2:45pm and asked Eli to meet us at the doctor's office because I wasn't sure I would be able to make it home to pick him up in time. It was raining. I remember that.
At 3:30pm Eli, Tanner and I all go into a room at the doctors office. Weight, Height, blood pressure. All the routine things I would expect for a physical. After taking Eli's blood pressure the nurse asked if Eli had ever had high blood pressure before. "Not that I know of," I said. I really wasn't quite sure though because we are a blended family and I only have a 4-5 year history with him. The nurse assured me it might just be fluke. "The doctor will recheck it when he gets in," she said.
The Doctor, who happens to be a good friend of ours, comes in and rechecks his blood pressure. Same...180 over 110. WOW! I text Craig to see if this was a trend with Eli at doctor's offices. Craig immediately calls my cell phone to speak to our friend, the Doctor. Still not totally concerned though because apparently this can happen. We will recheck it when we get home. In the meantime they will draw blood from Eli to be sent to a lab. While we are waiting for the nurse to come in to draw blood, Tanner starts singing the song to a GEICO commercial, "your gonna have dizziness, nausea and sweaty eye lids.." We all laugh including Eli!
The last thing Eli does is pee in a cup and we are headed back out in the rain and headed home.
Life goes on as usual. Getting dinner plans squared away, carting kids to and from activities, watching TV to catch up on hurricane news, getting everyone settled for bed.
Around 10pm we get a call from the Doctor on call to talk about lab results for Eli. I handed the phone off to Craig because he is more medically minded. I could tell from his voice that it is serious. After a few more phone calls from our doctor friend, conclusion....hospital...now!!
I texted a few of our prayer warriors to fill them in and ask them to pray while Craig and Eli head off to the hospital.
I stayed back with our other two boys. I am dumb founded. Confused. What just happened?!? Tons of questions in my mind. All I know is high blood pressure, low calcium and high creatine levels. What does this all mean?!?
I got to talk with Craig around midnight to get an update. So far we know that something is up with his kidneys. The ultrasound showed that his kidneys were actually very small. I went to bed with still more questions in my mind.
Next day: I get the boys up and ready for school, drop them off and then head up to the hospital with a ton of questions.
Finally we get to talk to the doctor to get a better handle on what is causing kidney issues.
A lot was said during that 15-20 minute meeting. My brain is still processing it.
But here is what my brain took in...
Kidneys are failing.
Kidneys are half the size they should be
We need to start thinking about what hospital we want to do transplant.
Wait! What?! I am almost afraid to ask questions because I feel like I should have known this. But really, I was still in "he probably has some sort of virus that is causing this" mode. I mean aren't most things attributed to viruses. Come on, it's just a virus. It is going to run its course and we will be back to normal. Right?!? He doesn’t even look like he is sick!!
There was a lot more that was said but my 45 year old brain can only hold 3 things at a time and this is what I could process at that moment. Which to be honest I was struggling with.
After the doctor left, Craig and I went over to Eli's bed to ask if he understood what was going on?! He said he did. He said he was fine with it. When Craig said, "It's okay if you have questions or if you are afraid. You can talk to us." And then the tears came. Oh the tears. Coming from all three of us.
We are all afraid if we are honest. BUT...we know that we have a BIG God and none of this was a surprise to HIM.
While we are still processing it I am thankful for a routine physical and friends that are doctors! I am thankful for the outpouring of love for Eli and our family. I am thankful for the detour in our life to remind us of the most important things.
More later-
Kerry
