An update is long in coming. I received good news for the first time yet from my doctors and have been celebrating a bit. Since the issues are no longer a concern I will share some of the story before .
My doctors were worried of me going into kidney failure. Years ago the blood disorder caused damage to my kidneys and arthritis can be known to attack the tissue there and cause more damage. The first abnormal test showed enough blood and protein that I was sent to a specialist. Between the first and the second test the amount tripled which caused a lot of concern that the damage may be progressing faster than they had thought. I knew that because of the original damage I was likely to have an issue eventually, but no one expected it to be so soon as twenty-two. Over several weeks of different testing and medication changes I finally got a call. While my kidney function is less than normal the actual damage is not so bad that I even need medication as of yet. Essentially this means that so long as no more damage occurs and I do not abuse my kidneys (which is difficult yet I have managed to cut down from several pots of coffee a day when I was a freshman in college to a cup every several days now) I should not need any treatment for it. Such a relief seeing as if I needed medication then it is simply a downward path towards needing a transplant once the medication is not effective. So now, at least for a time, I am free. I can live my life with one less burden!
