Dear Misplaced:
If I haven’t made it quite clear to you yet; you matter! As you look to recover your life, you must learn that you and you alone are your biggest advocate. In that regard, you need to be responsible for your own physical wellbeing. No one else can really do it for you.
At present, some of your physical needs like diet and medical care are being managed by others, but you need to speak for yourself when something is not right. For me, I went through my entire childhood and early adulthood, unaware of a kidney condition that I had after having my left kidney removed during infancy.
You see, with all the chaos that existed in my biological home, no one thought that me only having one kidney was a big deal. Between an abusive, alcoholic father that left the home when I was very young and a mother who was terminally ill; you might say that the youngest family member having a nephrectomy was just one more event in a huge pile of unfortunate events. I am sure that mentioning the fact that I had renal impairment at the age of five would not have aided my chances of getting placed into an adoptive home either.
Certain tale-tell signs of renal insufficiency were overlooked or dismissed. Although, looking back at persistent symptoms; all the warning signs were there. The adults in my life certainly didn’t want to be bothered or assigned a different cause when they became known. At this point in my life, I wish I had yelled a little louder.
A little louder when I experienced severe pain when trying to hold my urine. A little louder when I had periods of what seemed to be an unquenchable thirst. A little louder when I had sharp back pains when I was growing and my one remaining kidney was hypertrophying. A little louder when being forced to play contact sports. A little louder when being indoctrinated into unhealthy eating habits. I didn’t have that foresight or knowledge, but you certainly can. Ignoring your health and what your body is trying to tell you is not an admirable quality to be applauded. It might seem like the pragmatic thing to do in the moment but please don’t sell yourself short. You are worth so much more and so was I. So, speak up and get checked. Let medical professionals decide if your symptoms are “nothing to worry about”. Certainly, there were many instances when medical professionals pointed out certain things when I was growing up, but remaining silent didn’t exactly help anyone “connect the dots”.
Regardless of your situation, you can become your #1 health advocate by taking care of “the basics”. In last week’s message, I encouraged you to sharpen your mind through reading. So, if you are not already educated on what a healthy diet consists of, find materials and learn. While you are at it, learn about the benefits of exercise. Trust me, the knowledge that you acquire now will serve you well for the rest of your life. Get into those good habits, even if the family that took you in does not prioritize it. Yes, sometimes we need help from medical professionals, but on the day-to-day; learn to love your life and your body that much; you only get but the one. I deserved better and so do you.
Until next week; get healthy and stay healthy!
-Patrick