Thankfulness

I met a cheerful, sweet 4 year old this past week who had the terrible fortune of being infected with E.coli 5 months ago. Her mom said they have no idea how she got it. She was a perfectly healthy child before. Whatever it was, it got her good. She went into kidney failure and is now on dialysis three times a week. She also had to have two bowel surgeries and now has an ostomy. She also became diabetic. She can't walk anymore. She can stand with support, but can't walk. She was on TPN (IV nutrition) for a while. Now she can eat normally, but needs a daily can of a nutrition supplement like Pediasure, only she has to have the special one for people with kidney failure. Her diet has to be low potassium, low phosphorus, low sodium, and diabetic.

My heart was breaking for this little girl (even though she seemed quite content playing in my office) and her parents. Her mom was clearly affected by what happened. At first she was kind of short with me. As I went through the appointment and asked her questions about her daughter, she gradually loosened up. At the end of the appointment, I told the mom that I can't imagine everything they have been through and continue to live with on a daily basis, and I give her a lot of credit for everything she is doing for her daughter. We both got teary-eyed.

I am not typically prone to crying, but sometimes I am surprised by my own tears. I see lots of sick kids in my job, and I don't cry over each of them. I guess the difference in this particular case is that it seems like it could happen to anyone. I hear about people getting food poisoning all the time. I think I have had it twice myself. But in those situations, I threw up for a day or two, and yes, felt absolutely miserable for that time, but I recovered quickly. This little girl almost died! And her life will never be the same now. She will probably have to get a kidney transplant at some point. People can live a long time on dialysis, but it's no way to live and really can't last forever. She is so young.

It's Thanksgiving this week, and I am thankful for my health. It's so easy to take it for granted.