Jamey was diagnosed with IGA Nephritis (kidney disease) in 2012. It was a fluke, really. By chance. An act of God. He had a health fair at work and they kept bugging him to attend. Finally, he did. They did all of the normal stuff: weight, blood pressure, blood draw. Then a few days later we received the call. They told us he was sick. Very sick. And he needed to see his doctor soon. Several blood tests and a kidney biopsy later and we learned that he had about 30% kidney function. It is hard to know for sure, but sometime in his 20’s – early 30’s, something attacked his kidneys. The kidneys don’t repair themselves. They don’t magically get better.

This started our journey of quarterly blood tests and Nephrologist appointments. We were told he could live forever on that 30%. He may never have to do dialysis or think of the transplant list. Any time he had a cold or illness he had to get extra tests to make sure he was still okay. But we were doing it. It just became part of his schedule.

Thanksgiving 2014. Just a cold. Just a couple days feeling under the weather. Just crummy enough to upset his IGA Nephritis. There were many blood draws waiting for his numbers to level out. It didn’t happen. We got the call while visiting family in Illinois on Christmas Eve. They needed him to return to Colorado immediately. His blood test results read that he was in renal (kidney) failure.

We love knowing how many people are cheering for him. Every email, text and phone call are so greatly appreciated. However, we are exhausted. We feel awful that we can’t respond to everyone. We are using the blog to keep you updated as we learn new things. Feel free to join us on this journey.