“Follow us on the Kidney Trails where the Protein of knowledge never ends!”
…..Let’s step away from AW’s treatment for a few minutes. I want you to know and fully understand her. As a Nephrology Clinical Technician or as most would say Hemodialysis Technician, we sometimes forget that the individuals that we help take care of have other struggles besides experiencing Renal Failure. So what we don’t know about AW is that exactly year ago from this date of her first initial dialysis treatment, she made a visit to her Nephrologist . This was a visit that felt like lightning stuck. She was informed that she was in Stage 4 Renal Failure. In further detail of what I mean by Stage 4, is that their are five stages of CKD ( Chronic Kidney Disease) that unfortunately leads to an individual possibly needing dialysis to sustain and continue their lives. AW was in Stage 4 when she was notified by her Physician , meaning that she was at a severe and critical point in her life and she had to make a decision. The decision was to either to move forward with the process of starting Hemodialysis or let nature take its course…… Man I tell you when someone says to you ,” Let Nature Take It’s Course!”…… , the darkest of clouds move upon you, and you grow numb. It’s like the world comes to a complete stop. Like the iconic movie The Day The Earth Stood Still. So many thoughts run through your head. All the things you should’ve done. All the things you have done……All the things you could’ve avoided……All the things that were said…….All the things that could’ve been said……All the things you shouldn’t have said…….The people you lost…… The people you found……The people you never found….. The people you never will find……All of the places you’ve never been…… Possibly all the places you never will go….. ”Why is this happening to me?”…….. This last question was literally said by AW when she was admitted to the hospital three years ago with a minor stroke she suffered from. She said she remembers laying in her hospital bed shortly after her youngest son visited her and after he left. She felt alone , cold and in despair. Staring at the ceiling , she said to herself ,” God why is this happening to me? What did I do? I’m a good person!” ……..She told this to me in one of our conversations at the clinic. She said that she learned then from that point in her life that their is no answer to the question Why! Indeed we all have a story to tell. When we look into each other’s eyes. There’s so much mystery behind us. The saying that goes ,” The eyes are the windows to the soul “, couldn’t be more detailed than as it is stated. Especially since we all are wearing mask now, LOL. AW definitely has a story to tell. She has such Devine demeanor. AW wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement prior to her becoming ill. Growing up in Patterson, New Jersey at the age of 15, prior to that , born and raised in Spanish Town, Jamaica and Toronto, Canada, AW experienced many aspects of life at a young age. She was athletic and loved to run. Remembering one of her childhood events playing with friends the game of Catch A Thief , is where she was ignited with a spark to become a police officer. She was a very fast runner . As she always played the cop and wanted to protect others or in other words be the Savior, it was her calling . I failed to mention that at the age of seven , AW’s father was found mysteriously dead in Spanish Town,Jamaica…… Her father dying crushed her tremendously. A woman’s father is the first man in her life. One of the fond memories she had of her father was that every day when he arrived home from work , he would bring her and her sister a single white rose and a Almond Joy candy bar. Almond Joy was her favorite. Coconut and Chocolate was a combination to her palate that she dreamed of. Her father knew her all so well. Losing him was an unfulfilled empty space in her heart and soul. When the lost of a Father is taking away from a young lady , she could be in a complete dark place in her life with no sight of light. AW’s father was born and raised in Cuba and later moved to Jamaica prior to AW’s existence, where there he met her mother who was of Jamaican descent. So with that being said, I felt as though deep down within the debts of her soul, AW wanted to become a cop and made a vow to herself that she will honor her fathers death by catching the individual who murdered him. So now you know just a portion of AW’s story and what led her here to our clinic. Her seeing the Jamaican flag hung over her chair along with the number 7 at her station. Clearly explains why she stopped and stared and felt like this was home. And she no longer can run like she used to as a child growing up.
To Be Continued…….
Kidney Trails 