23 Years Ago Today....

It was July 13, 1987, when I received the diagnosis that would change my life forever.
I had survived a difficult junior year in high school, and had recovered (essentially) from a brief struggle with anorexia. Believe me when I say, I think my dad may have saved my life when he stopped me from becoming a model...had he done nothing, I might have become perpetually anorexic, and probably would have died from that at an early age.
In June, 1987, Mom and I accompanied Dad on a business trip to Cocoa Beach, FL. Yes, there really is such a place, and I loved being there those two weeks.
During our "vacation," I continued to maintain my diet and exercise routine, which I had modified a little, after I had to recover from being too thin. Fine. I was doing very well with that. Never got under 100 lbs., as I had the year before. Always, about 104-105 lbs., which to this day, I would love to be able to weigh!
When we returned home, again, I was up to my usual diet and exercise routine. I had let up a little on the exercising, but was still spending most of my waking hours with that.
July 12, 1987: I got off the couch to turn the TV off, after enjoying an episode of "The Monkees." When I got up, my low back started hurting terribly. I thought I had merely pulled a muscle during exercising earlier that day. But, overnight, I had to make frequent trips to the bathroom...maybe once or twice an hour. I took Tylenol for the pain, but for the first time in my life, Tylenol just did not cut it.
That was why I figured that something must be terribly wrong.
That day--July 13, 1987--I saw my pediatrician, who ordered a CT scan of my kidneys.
That was how we found out. It was official as of that day. I have Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Questions remain in my mind to this day. Did I screw my own body up with all that dieting and exercising????? The very things that are supposed to be good for you...fitness, and all that...did it screw my body up??? What happened??? How did I get this disease, which is normally hereditary, but no one in my family has it???
To this day, I wonder.
As I am sure you know already, but I'll tell you anyway, the old PKD kidneys had to come out in November of 2007...20 years after the initial diagnosis. I had no idea that my kidneys would fail so early on in my life...then again, I knew nothing about dietary restrictions as a way to slow down the progression of kidney failure. Had I known 10 years ago what I know now, I might not be on dialysis yet.
It does no good to kick myself in the tail for all of this. What's done is done. All I can do is pray that I do indeed get a kidney transplant this August (the 18th, if all goes well...just one more month). I can't change the past, other than to pray for forgiveness, on the outside chance that I did screw my own body up.
Thank you for reading!!
xoxo