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Marcelo P.

One fateful day, I fell ill and wasn’t seeming to get any better. My fever was stubbornly high and nausea/vomiting prevented me from eating anything. I remember my mother and I waiting at this [...]

One fateful day, I fell ill and wasn’t seeming to get any better. My fever was stubbornly high and nausea/vomiting prevented me from eating anything. I remember my mother and I waiting at this doctor’s office a few days later, and having to do a urine test to see if that would show anything wrong — which it did. The doctor said to us: “You’re leaking blood in your results.”

Soon after that, I found myself in a room getting prepped for a kidney biopsy. I was diagnosed on March 21, 1997 (my birthday) with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. 

Now, 23 years later, I’ve battled through:

– FSGS diagnosis

– Kidney transplant

– Peritoneal dialysis 

– Peritonitis infection (7x) 

– Hemodialysis/catheters and fistula (In-center, hospital, nocturnal and home — 20 years)

– Parathyroid removal

– Kidney removal 

– Deep depression/anxiety 

– Pain 

– Addiction 

– Colitis/fecal transplant 

– C. diff infection

– Diverticulitis

– Intestines removal (sigmoidectomy) 

– Intestine reconstruction surgery