I’m going to share with you a chapter of my life that began unexpectedly, transforming my understanding of health and resilience. No one anticipates being told they have a chronic disease, especially not if you’ve led a life relatively free of major health issues. But that’s the twist my life took, and it’s one that many can resonate with when their world is upended by a similar diagnosis.
You’re going to find out about how routine can sometimes lead you to life-changing discoveries. In my case, it was an insurance-required health exam that brought the unexpected into sharp focus. Most of us go through these check-ups with the certainty that all is well, until, suddenly, it isn’t. From there, the complexity of my situation only grew, leading to an ultrasound and eventually an MRI, each step unveiling a little more about the silent intruder I housed.
My story isn’t unique in the fact that I recognized no signs of kidney disease and I was deep in the throes of my work life, juggling deadlines and meetings, which led me to procrastinating treatment after the issue came into light. It’s a common tale — the growth was non-invasive, I felt fine, so I pushed concerns about my health to the back burner.
That decision led me to eventually face a much more significant challenge: the removal of my kidney. I’ll speak frankly about the daunting realization I faced due to procrastinating the treatment. What was supposed to be the removal of a non-invasive tumor and a portion of the kidney, ultimately led to surgery wherein I had to say goodbye to a part of myself. Yet, the need to address the issue directly was a turning point in my journey towards understanding and coping with kidney disease.
In the next section, we will go deeper into the emotional toll of being diagnosed with a condition like kidney cancer. We’ll uncover the initial stages of coming to terms with the facts and how I navigated the choppy waters of emotions that followed. It’s a testament to the human spirit’s resilience and the profound realization that sometimes, the things we neglect due to routine concerns, like work, can become our greatest teachers on what truly matters in life.