Part 2 — the day a trip to A&E led to a life-changing kidney failure diagnosis and emergency dialysis.
My A&E Experience: When Shortness of Breath Led to Something Serious
I live 5 minutes away from the hospital so I got dropped off- along with my mum and dad- and went straight to A&E. After a brief triage the nurse looked concerned about my breathing, I can still remember the look on her face, we went to the waiting room. Within about 10 minutes we were called through, where I had to explain all my symptoms, and had the (what I know now is) usual work up of blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature taken.
My blood pressure and pulse rates were incredibly high, I can’t remember the exact number by the systolic was over 200 and the diastolic was over 100. So it raised a few red flags, I also had bloods taken and had my chest listened too, which was followed by having a chest x-ray. As I mentioned earlier my legs were covered in these huge black bruises, which I had no idea where they came from, they weren’t painful or anything. However, because it was July and I was wearing shorts they were noticed and raised some more flags.
Shocking Test Results and a Kidney Failure Diagnosis Requiring Emergency Dialysis
So anyway after my little work up we had to wait for the results. So we were sitting in a smaller waiting room, it wasn’t long until they called me through and I can remember they told me to sit down. I knew instantly there was something wrong because there were two doctors in the room. I got that horrible foreboding feeling, you know the one you get when something bad is going to happen. They said to me, that my chest x-ray showed I had a lot of fluid in my lungs. The blood test results showed I had kidney failure, having an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 2 (a normal rate for a healthy adult is more than 90). They told me my creatinine was 1935 when it should have been around 100. They told me I had dangerously high blood pressure and was anaemic, with a haemoglobin of 84 when it should be around 120-140. So I had just had all this information thrown at me and I was just sat there thinking ‘what’. They then asked if I wanted my parents to come in, to which I said yes, then the two doctors explained things to them.
I think that my parents struggled with the news a lot more than I did, for me I was so exhausted that I don’t think I had the mental capacity to actually process what I had just been told in that moment. Anyway they told me I needed to go to a different hospital to be able to get dialysis- again I had no idea what dialysis was at this point. So in my head I’m thinking ok mum and dad will drive me, its all fine- no they told me they were arranging an ambulance to take me so we just had to wait until they arrived.
Something that you may think is did you stop weeing if your kidneys weren’t working….well no is my answer. I don’t know if other people do this or if it’s just me and my sister but I like a tactical wee (as well as just normally needing to go), so right before I go to sleep, or if I’m just about to leave the house. I am not as bad as I was with it but I still do my tactical wees. So that’s why I think I never noticed a reduction in how much wee my body was actually making.
Ambulance Transfer to a Renal Ward
Anyway at some point (it wasn’t too much of a wait) the paramedics arrived, and they asked me if I wanted a wheelchair or if I could walk. I said I was fine to walk, so off we went to the ambulance, which was a new experience for me. My mum came with me and my dad got picked up and went home with the intention of going to the other hospital. So once we got in the ambulance the paramedic asked me if I wanted to ride with the blue lights on, which he said is pretty uncomfortable or just drive normally. I really didn’t care so I told him that. He then proceeded to do my observations before we left, which included my blood pressure- as I mentioned earlier it was ridiculously high. I think he was a bit shocked when he saw the monitor, because he quickly told the driver to blue light us. He was right though it was not very comfortable, I felt like I was going to fall off the stretcher bed. When we arrived I was wheeled to the ward (which I found incredibly embarrassing).
Preparing for Emergency Dialysis
The ward I was on was full of lovely old ladies who were all shocked I was there with an eGFR of 2. Soon after getting observations taken, some blood pressure medication and a cannula put in, I had a visit from the doctor. They asked lots of questions and gave me my plan which was to give me a femoral line, a temporary access point for dialysis, which involved putting a tube into my femoral vein, the tube then had two tubes that would be the dialysis access points. I’m sure there is a lot of technical names I could use but I don’t know them, and I want you to be able to understand what I mean as opposed to a load of jargon which is meaningless.
Anyway, they quickly came and whisked me away to the procedure room.
Looking Back: Processing a Life-Changing Diagnosis
When I look back now I can completely understand my symptoms and the severity of my situation. At the time though I really struggled to grasp this. Now I understand that I had to go in an ambulance because my blood pressure was so high I was at risk of having a stroke or heart attack. The reason for my bruising and tiredness was being anaemic. And that the reason for my breathlessness was because I ultimately drowning in my own body. My kidneys had shut down so all the water I had been drinking was filling up in my body. Back when I was told I was just thinking OK I just want to feel better and I just couldn’t really comprehend it all.
Have you ever had a completely unexpected diagnosis that turned your life upside down? Share your story in the comments or connect with me — you’re not alone.
