Quite suddenly, I became very ill last week. With a 10-year-old and a lifestyle that includes frequent travel, my body has to work hard to get my attention sometimes. I tend to minimize and push through, thinking if I stop every time for every symptom, I would never be functional.
But last week was different.
I had flu-like symptoms, but no upper respiratory complaints. I knew it could still be the flu. I had a flu shot, however I knew that didn’t necessarily matter with all the new strains of flu constantly emerging. When I finally stood up and my legs gave way putting me in a heap on the floor, I called my doctor. Speaking to the nurse, she sympathized with my feelings but mentioned it was probably the flu and would take a couple weeks to resolve. So I said in the kindest voice I could muster, “I don’t just feel bad. My legs gave out when I tried to stand and I had to crawl to the bathroom on my hands and knees. Check my chart. I’m not a whiner.”
So she made me appointment for the next day.
And I’m glad I was persistent and she made that appointment. It turns out I had a very bad kidney infection, and the beginning of kidney failure. As my mom and I sat listening to my doctor with our jaws hanging open, he began to talk to us about my hospitalization options. (Later I would learn that I was about 48 hours away from major organ shutdown and a coma.)
Not quite a week later, I’m on enough antibiotics to make me radioactive and my body will be recovering for some time. I have regular doctor check-ins and blood tests scheduled. But each day is a bit better than the one before. My doctor says in cases like mine that is the only real measure of recovery: improvement over the day before.
Then, as luck would have it, Grace caught a cold last week too and we both lied around one-upping each others’ symptoms. (Grace concluded that I “won.”)
Despite these Call Me Katherine segments indicating otherwise, I’m kind of a private person. Therefore, not many knew the seriousness of my illness. But those that did were great about bringing flowers and food and making sure my child was fed when I couldn’t move. Thanks to my mom and select local friends who looked out for us.
My final thoughts to my readers: don’t make your body scream at you to get your attention. When something feels different, it is different. Be persistent until someone listens. After all, our bodies are the only place we ever live in this world that we can’t live without.
It was REALLY SCARY! Im so grateful that you are on the mend!!