Its been a while since I have posted a blog. This is because I have been very busy with work, hospital and doctors appointments and a 3 week holiday in Florida. I have not really wanted to or felt like blogging anything.
Back in November 2013 I went to the doctors as I wasn’t feeling well. I had some blood tests and it was’nt good news. Well to cut a long story short I was approaching renal failure. To put it simply, if you take a healthy person’s kidneys as 100% efficient then mine were < 20% efficient. The doctor said that maybe in …about 3 years I may require kidney dialysis or a kidney transplant. The doctor said it may be sooner or later he doesn’t know.
So over the past couple of months I have had a series of blood tests, urine tests and scans. On the 21st March I had an appointment with kidney specialist. And basically the tests confirm that my kidneys are bad and that I am in stage 4 kidney failure. I will be needing a kidney transplant or dialysis soon. And because my kidneys are not working properly I now have to take vitamin D and Potassium supplements. In addition I have had to have the Hepatitis B immunisation. The doctor wasn’t sure how long I have before my kidneys failed completely.
Anyway, before I can get a kidney transplant I need to have loads more tests to insure I am fit enough to receive a new kidney (ie that I have no other problems like heart problems). And then I will be put on the transplant list. My brother has kindly offered 1 of his kidneys and so at that stage if he still wants to give me a kidney he will also have to have some tests to ensure he are fit enough to donate a kidney followed by an interview to ensure he knows what he is doing. And then if we are both fit enough they have to ensure we are match and then eventually we will have the op.
On Thursday I have the first of many tests to check how fit I am. I must admit I feel a bit scared about the prospect of my kidneys failing and having to have dialysis or a transplant.Anyway, in the meantime we had a great holiday in Florida. We were over there for 3 weeks and we didn’t want to come back home. We have put a load of pics on facebook if anybody fancies a look. We stayed in a hotel for the first week and then we had 2 weeks in a villa. The weather was brilliant and we did loads of stuff, walked a lot, ate a lot. The highlights was universal studios and the world of harry potter which was cool. Oscar had a fantastic time and bought a harry potter wand. And then on my birthday we went to a medieval banquet/jousting show which was brilliant. We ate out at loads of restaurants. The villa we stayed in was fantastic. I have got a postcard for you which I didn’t manage to send to you as I forgot to take your address with me, so I will send that soon as well. The sunshine really did me good and when I was in America I felt great but now being back in England I feel low already.
Anyway, that’s about it really. Hopefully I will blog more often now. And I will keep you updated of my medical progress.
Blog of Darren Derbyshire 