Today K saw the nephrologist. This, of course, is not the original one who diagnosed his kidney problem--HE no longer is here. K was happy with the doctor--said he was very personable and not a 'kid' like the last one. (The last one was fine, he just looked young enough to be our son--and probably WAS!) After a 45 minute visit and the taking of 4 quarts of blood and half a gallon of pee, the doctor said he will see K again in a year as long as the test results come back fine. This, of course, was good news.
Then, of course, we get to the 'oh, oh' part of what K was told. First, he has to start restricting his protein intake. Protein makes the kidneys work too much, so he has to watch it. Of course, he has to restrict his sodium, too. He has to increase his fruits and vegetables and work towards walking 30 minutes a day. Also, he has been put on one baby aspirin per day. Fine--we can work with this. A bit of a change in lifestyle, but doable. Then K told me the 'rest of the story.' The doctor told him that, eventually, he will probably need a kidney transplant. As we get older, our kidneys begin to lose function and considering K has such a low functioning level (only 30%) to begin with, this is a double whammy for him. So, without trying to borrow trouble, we have the possibility of some big-time medical issues in our future. While I won't allow myself to worry about this, it will, nonetheless, be a part of my life from now on. We never know, do we?
Medical Update
