My Diagnosis - Here, Hold My Kidneys, I Saw This In A Cartoon Once

Call me Ishm...I mean, David Lowe; I have been given many nicknames, but Ishmael is definitely not one of them and I definitely haven't ever traveled the seven seas searching for a giant whale, even a figurative one. I've never had a personal journal or diary, much less a blog, but let's take a whack at it and see how this turns out. I don't want to, and won't give a full auto-biography of my past right now, that's 27 years that may or may not be relevant to any part of this story and I don't fully feel like sharing. In reality, who wants to hear about how I died 6 times, or any other boring story like that?

If I had to pick a certain day where it all changed, I would pick December 17th, 2012. That was the first day that I was admitted into University Medical Center Las Vegas for Acute Kidney Failure...or so we thought. But let’s build a little bit of the story and back up a few days, back to the 13th of December; I didn't even realize it until now, probably due to my overall lack of superstition, but that would be "lucky" 13 wouldn't it? I would stake claim on this day as the beginning to a long and tiresome "adventure"; on this day, it seems, I contracted the flu. Most days I would be somewhat relieved to take a three day weekend, even though it starts out being sick; i was counting on the fact that I'd be sick for one day and be done with it. When Monday morning arrived, I was still very sick and I had spent the last four days and nights on, we'll call it the "throne" with, "the runs", and that is definitely an understatement. I had decided to tough it out one more day and return to work Tuesday, my wife, Christa, whom I have deemed to be the most amazing person alive, had other plans. She had decided that I was in no condition to even lay on the couch and watch House, M.D. any longer, which was throwing hints at me all weekend but we'll get back to that later. She ambushed me, on her way to work she called a friend, whom of which ends up being a lot closer to us than we had ever thought, to come and deliver me to the ER.

Although I despise the ER due to its long wait times and sense of frustration from seeming to never accomplish anything, I am thoroughly thankful that my wife played her trump card and forced me to go. I have been told by a few doctors and nurses that, if I didn't come in, I probably would have met my maker; which, when I think about it now, probably wouldn't have been so bad, but I'm not ready and apparently He has got bigger plans for me. Yes, there will be religious epiphanies and scripture through-out this blog but I'm no Preacher, so don't get bashful and run off. After spending the entire day in the ER being hydrated from severe dehydration, the ER doctor came back to discuss some blood work that had been taken earlier. Though he tried to soften the blow, he didn't have a good look on his face; it seemed that, at that time, I had Acute Kidney Failure and would need to be admitted to the hospital immediately.

I know, this is where I write about my inner feelings that resulted from the impact of this news, but to be honest, I didn't have any...I was empty. Not from a lack of emotion, if you ask my wife I am actually quite emotional. I chalk it up to the fact that I had been through worse and spent many nights in the ER for myself and/or my two brothers and never had to worry about something so life altering; even after dying 6 times or cutting my leg open with a SkilSaw. We had always pulled through without much more then a scar and a good story to talk about when friends and family were around; apparently this time was different. I put my best Susan Lowe face on and asked some ancillary questions about the diagnosis and if I could use the house phone, since besides my kidney issues, my cell phone battery had died and this was a major concern. Did i forget to mention, Susan is my Mom and other then being my Mother, she plays a big part in the days following this ER visit without even being in the same state; the picture should be a hint, closer details will have to come later.

Have you ever been so engrossed in a TV show or movie, and i hope my story has done the same, that you didn't even realize where the time had gone and then they do it to you,

...To Be Continued...

Well, I'd hate to file into that category, but it seems my initial post is dragging on and I'll continue it another day. So, without being too repetitive, even though I just shot myself in the foot by mentioning the repetition,

Don't get all discombobbulated about it, I have unwillingly inherited a considerable amount of free-time due to my rare and irreversible kidney issues and posting updates throughout the week will probably come easily. If you can't handle the suspense and want to get more details, visit the "About Us" page, but be warned...spoiler alert!!!