My name is Kayla and I have Nephrotic Syndrome. NS is a rare kidney disorder that about one in every five hundred thousand kids get each year. The one difference is, it's more common in boys than it is in girls. The type I have is minimal change disease, which is the most common type among children. Children usually develops this disease from the ages of one and a half to three.
When I was one, my parents noticed on one peculiar morning that my stomach was swollen, my eyelids were so puffy that they were closed shut and my whole body looked as if it was filled with fluid. My parents soon jumped with precautions and called 911, where I was rushed to Memorial Hospital. They had no idea how to help me, from there I was rushed to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. Where a very bright and well educated man named Dr. Leiser soon diagnosed me with NS.
From the day I got diagnosed to this very moment right here, my life has been a roller coaster. In my life time I have been hospitalized about 13 times and have had about 15 at home care relapses. All different and all scarier than the next.
With my life and my condition, I can do a lot of things, but my one dream has been shot out of my heart. For as long as I can remember I wanted to join the Navy. Unfortunately for me, I have a preexisting condition, which makes me unable to qualify for the ride. From the moment I new, I couldn't even believe it, my one dream was gone.
My message to everyone out there who says they can't do something because it's to hard or you don't think your good enough. Go for your dreams! When you have the opportunity to be whatever you want to be. Don't let anything stop you from following your dreams!
- a broken heart
