The Journey Begins...finding out

November 15, 2007

I guess this is my blog.... this is the first entry....I'm Christy, I've just turned 40 (yikes), and I have PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease). I'm just going to write my stream of consiousness about the disease, and what my fears are, and how I'm feeling.

Right now it is almost 3:00 a.m. and I am going on my third week of sleeplessness, so I'm feeling tired and frustrated that I can't get to sleep....I'll get into all of that another day.

I have two beautiful children, Hannah (7) and Ethan (2)... and a great husband Jim.

The title of this blog is Christy's PKD Journey, because that is what it seems to me, a journey... where you kind of know where you're going, but you aren't sure of all the turns you will take on the way.....

So here is the begining of my journey:


I remember the 5th grade (a long time ago 1977). My dad was having some vision problems, and he had lots of exams to figure out what was the cause..... His vision is fine now, I don't remember what the exact cause was, (stress?) but along the way, one of the exams showed he had Polycystic Kidney Disease..... I guess because he had it, and it was hereditary my sister and I were both checked....I remember this clearly because I was sent to school that day of my x-ray with a thermous of broth.... I was 10!...... I didn't like broth, and one of my classmates had a birthday and brought in cupcakes, and I couldn't have it, I could only eat broth because I was having an x-ray, or something.

Well anyway, it was confirmed that my sister Sara and I did in fact have PKD. I was told that it was a kidney disease that creates little bubbles on my kidney, and many people can go through life not even knowing that they have it..... I was not one of those people!