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Thursday, February 28, 2019

CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE...SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND MAINTENANCE

When the doctor told me I was in 4th stage CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease)  I didn't believe him So the first thing I did was to educate myself about kidneys; what they are and what they do.  Because I always drank plenty of water and constantly urinated.Well, one of the number one signs that you may be suffering from Kidney Disease is constant urination - especially at night.

Also be aware of changes in urination.  Color, foaminess, smell, or blood in urine could be an indication of kidney problems.

Another sign is lower back pain or pain in your sides. These can actually be pain from your kidneys.

Other early symptoms to include:

  • anemia,
  • changes in the way your food tastes, 
  • loss of appetite, 
  • dizziness,
  • headaches, 
  • difficulty thinking clearly, 
  • shortness of breath, 
  • fatigue, 
  • itchy skin or rash.
When it finally sunk in that the doctor was right, I had to find out what exactly it is that I am dealing with.  What exactly do the kidneys do and what function has my body lost and how will dialysis help?   Upon accepting the inevitable, I had to undergo a series of blood tests to determine my level of kidney function, or lack thereof.  The one thing the doctor was very concerned about is something called the creatinine level.  The normal rang is .06 - 1.2 milligrams.  My levels?  8.6. Very very high.  This is want sent me to the hospital on the even of Xmas, 2018. 

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
 Of course as with all health related problems in the United States,  the disparity among African American, Latinos and Native Americans is still in effect.  Two major contributing factors are diabetes and hypertension - which are also prevalent among the aforementioned groups.  

DISPARITY
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THE BOTTOM LINE....EAT RIGHT.

Two things we have to be careful about are Sodium, Potassium and Phosphorus.  These are not our friends!  Instead of focusing on what we CAN'T ear, I will focus on some of the many delicious foods that we CAN eat!




Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Lessons from a Snowflake

Happy New Year!

It's January 2019, and I was just thinking that we haven't had any snow yet in Philly.  Oh, yeah.  We did have that surprise 3 inches in November, but, I was hoping for a White Christmas.

As my grand daughter and I made snowflakes by cutting up white paper, I began to think about the structure of a real snowflake as she began explaining to me how snowflakes have 6 points.  I thought, "How interesting that such a tiny and fragile object has a six pointed structure."  Then I looked up what are snowflakes made of.  We learned that the molecules in the ice crystals join to one another in a hexagonal structure, allowing water molecules (H2O) to form a snowflake.

Each snowflake is a different individual, and by themselves  they don't make much of an impact. Sometimes they get carried away by the wind.  Sometimes they  collide and damage each other. Most times they collide and work together and when they work and bind together, they can wreak havoc on a city!

What a basic and fundamental concept!  Our communities could sure learn a lesson from these tiny and fragile pieces of matter.

We are all different individually, but collectively, if we work and bind together, we can strike a mighty blow.

Ponder that.

More to come!

Happy 2019