The lump on his stomach was very concerning. He was really scared by it because it wasn't just a lump, it was painful to the touch. We had an idea of what it was and so the next day he decided to go back to the ER again.
This time they called in an internist to look at him. They finally took a CT scan and ran blood and cultures. Finally, his creatinen level caught up to what was going on because it was over 3.0, which is very high. When the scans came back, the doctor showed us that his kidneys had basically ballooned and were so large that they now were pushing up to his abdomen wall. He had also become septic now, which means that he had an infection that had spread to his blood and that can be very dangerous.
Here is what really happened. James had been labeled a "baby" by the doctors and by his work (which I won't get into because that is a whole different issue. Suffice it to say, they got really sick of him complaining). Even though he tried to tell people about how sick he was, he was ignored. He had an infection that probably started in his kidney, but slowly, day after day, month after month, spread throughout his body. This infection caused him all his symptoms and also allowed his kidneys to grow at a rapid rate. I truly believe that he was just a few days away from dying if that internist hadn't finally believed him and done something about it.
Polycystic Kidney/Football
This is how big James' kidneys are. A regular kidney is the size of a fist.
Oh, Steph this is so difficult for you and your family. James suffering is so sad. I am glad that this internist did something. I hope things look up from here.
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