I Know When My Kidneys Are Going to Fail

A physical therapist was shocked to learn that for her, these crucial organs had an expiration date. With proactive care, she intends to extend it.

- SAMANTHA BELL

When I was 16, I was in a car accident on my way to school and my spleen was injured. I needed to undergo a CT scan to make sure there was no other internal damage to my organs. The ER doctors checked everything out, including my kidneys. They told me that my spleen would heal—but unrelated to the accident, based on the scans, they suspected that I might have polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and suggested that I consult a kidney doctor. I had no idea what all that meant, but a month later my mom took me to see a nephrologist.

While the specialist confirmed that I did indeed have PKD, which meant my kidneys were engorged with fluid-filled cysts and would probably fail by the time I turned 60, she didn’t seem very concerned about my health at that moment. She even seemed annoyed that I was wasting her time with a visit when I didn’t have any symptoms. My mom and I were upset, but we pushed it to the backs of our minds. I felt like, I’m 16—I’ll worry about this later.

I went on living my life, eventually getting my doctorate in physical therapy. But I always felt as if there was a ticking time bomb in my body that would someday go off. I would think, Now I’m 20; I have 40 more years until my kidneys fail.

A CRISIS AND A NEW PATH