Our family’s chronic kidney disease dates back to the late 1800’s—at least six generations have been affected by it. Growing up, I watched both my grandmother and my mother go through dialysis and eventually receive kidney transplants.
Ever since I can remember, kidney disease has been a normal topic in our family. My grandfather got his kidney transplant around the time I was born & my mother got hers over five years ago. It was always in the back of my mind that I could have it.
My experience with my genetic kidney disease, Autosomal Dominant Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease (ADTKD) - Uromodulin Kidney Disease (UMOD), began when my mother became ill in her sixties (I was in my twenties) and needed to prepare for dialysis.
I have no recollection of the day or even the manner in which I was told I had the Carroll kidney disease, which is how I thought of it at the time.