“I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” Psalms 91:2
Struck Down Suddenly with Kidney Disease
Until the age of twelve, I was a normal child, I was doing well at school and I was active and healthy by the grace of God. Then all of a sudden, I became unwell. I woke up one morning with so much swelling on my face, I couldn’t even see properly. I was taken to the GP where the doctors gave me three different allergy tablets to take for a month thinking it was a reaction to something. When all this failed to make me better, Dad and Mum asked for me to be referred to a specialist. I was seen by consultants who said that it was a serious problem and they took me straight to the ward for blood tests. I was diagnosed with a kidney disease.
My Parents encouraged me to Pray
Very soon, I was under the care of Southampton General Hospital. They did a biopsy by taking some tissue from my kidney, as the steroids I had been taking for three months were having no effect. The biopsy results showed that it was a more complicated kidney disease. They said that there was no cure for it so I had to try many different immuno suppressant medicines which made me more ill for nearly two years. It came to the stage where I was getting really puffy and swollen all over. Sometimes, I couldn’t even walk because I was so swollen and my family were going backwards and forwards to the hospital all the time. My parents suffered a great deal financially, mentally and physically during this hard time but they never gave up hope and encouraged me to be strong and pray to God.
My Kidneys were Removed
I had lots of hospital admissions. I missed months of school and I missed all my friends. I missed many school trips. By God’s Grace, I was awarded many achievement award trips at school but due to my condition, I was unable to go for any of them. My little sister missed out most during my hospital admissions as my parents spent so much time with me. Gradually my kidney function got worse and I was becoming more and more ill. None of the medicines were working. Eventually, the doctors decided that my kidneys were doing more damage than good so they had to be removed. I could not believe that this was happening to me. I had kidney failure. In the next few months, I had three major operations and suffered much pain and agony due to the surgery.
I Thank God that I can have the Dialysis at Home
When I was suffering in hospital, I would pray to the Lord to ease my pain and then I would feel much better. I am now dependent on dialysis, where a machine does the work of my kidneys. God has helped me so much. He has showed me ways to deal with the situation and enabled me to have the dialysis at home. I thank God for giving my Dad and my Mum the strength and knowledge to look after my dialysis at home. This means that I do not need to miss any school, my sister can always be with us and we all have a bit of normality back in our lives. God is so great, greater than any of us can ever imagine.
Never Give Up Hope
Right now, I thank God for everything he has done for me. I have such a wonderful family who are with me every step of the way, so many understanding friends, such caring doctors and nurses to look after me. I can never thank the Lord enough. I pray for all those little children and people who are suffering right now. I pray for everyone who is struggling with a similar illness, who do not have the facilities that I have. I ask God to help them like he helped me. For all those who are suffering out there, you should never give up hope. Just hold God close to your heart and everything will be well.
My fight with kidney failure still continues but I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel…
Written by Risa Romy