21 year old has kidney failure because of poor diet.

21 year old athlete ends up in renal failure due to poor diet
Today walking into the hospital not know what type of patients I may
encounter. I met a 30 year old healthy individual that is on
hemodialysis because he has kidney failure. Looking at his medical
history I noticed he has none. Only high blood pressure. I than was
curious as I walked into the patient room and leaned on the trash can
to hear his story. This patient was here to have a arterior-venous
fistula repair so that he can continue on having hemodialysis, but his
only 29 years old, I was boggled. Now, hemodialysis is a treatment
that is done to patients that have very poor- to no kidney function.
This treatment is used to filter the blood because the kidney are
unable to do so. If this is not done than the chemicals in your body
accumulate and can cause detrimental effects such as disorientation,
or for example if there is too much potassium your heart will stop
which will result in heart failure.
This patient was a healthy individual, played football, track,
soccer. One thing that he never focused on was his diet because he was
so active and fit. Little that he know that the amount of salt content
that he was consuming was the result of him having high blood
pressure. He would also occasionally drink gallons of water in order
to lose weight. He was just an average adult doing what I think we all
tend to do in that age in order to look good, look fit and look
attractive. Over time, he develop certain type of symptoms. Such as
having numbness and tingling sensation on his fingers and lower legs.
He said he would get those symptoms occasionally but they would go
away. He thought maybe it was diabetes and self diagnosed himself or
was told. He couldn’t remember. But he didn’t want to see a doctor
because the simple fact that he hated needles. One day the numbness
and tingling was so bad that he couldn’t walk. And it was merely his
body slowly shutting down because his kidneys were failing. Now the
reason why his kidneys failed was because of high blood pressure. The
high blood pressure was very damaging to the kidney, which caused them to fail. Now the symptoms that he was developing was his body trying
to reserve his blood to his vital organs, such as his heart, lung,
etc. his arms, legs and face (lips), the vessels get really small to
the point that there is no blood at this locations which is the result
of tingling, results to numbness which will eventually result to pain.
Because where ever there is no oxygen (which is found in blood) will
result to pain if there is pain receptors there. But being that he
hated needles he absolutely waited to the last minute to see the
doctor. High blood pressure that causes this type of damage is usually
found on older adults. Now this patient required to have surgery in
his arm to place a device to allow hemodialysis to take place because
if not he will die. He is now 30 years old and been on this type of
treatment since he was 21 years old. All because of poor diet probably
genetics also but a biopsy was not done because regardless there was
not treatment other than him trying to apply to get a transplant.
Hemodiaysis is a treatment that is usually done Monday, wedensday,
Fridays, and takes about 4 hours each treatment. Now his having
multiple surgeries over the years to keep that device functioning in
order to continue hemodilaysis. A treatment required to maintain life.
Now at the age of 30, 9 years later he will soon have to make a
decision to keep doing what his doing or accept a kidney transplant.
Accepting a transplant also have risk, such as becoming immunosuppress
which might result him having infection, getting sick a lot of the
times, or becoming septic which is a full blown infection that can
kill him. Other risk can be disease such as HIV, which is a blood
virus which the organs do get screened for but there is that saying,
“you never know”, and you have to sign a waiver saying if it does
occur you took that risk and the hospital is not liable. The patient
tells himself as I am talking to him, shaking his head saying “if I
would just have gone to get checked or see a doctor, watch my diet…”.
I empathized with him because this could have been genetics or it
could have been his diet and aggressive abuse that his body took which
by all means a young body can take allot of abuse and can adapt, but
as you get older, well you know the where Im going with this.
Prevention is key and routine yearly exams are so important and I
believe its necessary. Now Im taking care of a patient that is my age
and has dreams of being a fireman so he can save lifes, but the only
tragic thing about this is that right now the only life he can save is
his own, and he may not ever have that opportunity because of what has
happen, leaving him vulnerable. How I wish I can see him as a fireman,
the personality, determination that he has is merely heroic and I’m
just honored to have have the opportunity to have taking care of him.

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Christopher E. Moreno R.N. B.S.N