Teresa's Continuing Kidney Journey

03/13/2026

03/12/2026

I saw my Kidney Doctor today. My GFR is now at 16. I'm really close to Stage 5 now.

My Kidney Doctor checked my new fistula, and he said it is not maturing , which means that they wouldn't have anywhere to poke me, should I start dialysis. He told me to get in and see my surgeon who did my fistula surgery to see what he says. I see him next Tuesday.

I still have to lose more weight in order to get active on the Transplant List again. I am still on Zepbound.

So, that's the news for now. I am still Dialysis-free, hoping to get the transplant process going before going back on Dialysis. We'll see how it goes.

02/05/2026

I have been taking Zepbound for the last couple of months to lose weight to preparing for a transplant. I am on the Transplant List, just inactive. I started out at 251 pounds, and right now, I am at 235. So the Zepbound is definitely helping.

01/27/2026

I began my Kidney Journey in February of 2013. I had been talking Lithium, a drug for Bipolar Disorder. My doctors weren't positive that it was from the Lithium, but my Kidney Doctor at the time figured that, since my kidneys did not improve right away after stopping it, that the Lithium was the culprit.

I started dialysis a short time later. I was a patient at Puget Sound Kidney Center in Mountlake Terrace, Washington until the end of May of 2017.

I was able to get onto the Kidney Transplant List at University of Washington Medical Center. I actually received "The Call" a couple of times, but there was someone ahead of me both times.

In June of 2017, my family and I moved to Michigan. I became a patient at Fresinius Kidney Center in Holland, Michigan.

I did dialysis in-center, then toward the end of 2017, I was trained on how to do Peritoneal Dialysis, which I could do at home. That was a challenge, but I was able to do it.

Then in May of 2018, my nurse checked my labs, and she said my Kidney numbers were "wonky".

As it turned out, my numbers were too good to be on Dialysis.

Everyone I talked to about said it was a miracle. I believe it was a touch from God!

I was able to get onto the Transplant List with Mercy Health at St. Mary's in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was active on it until my kidney numbers improved.

Right now, I am on the Transplant List, just inactive.

The last time I saw my Kidney Doctor, my GFR was at 19. It had been that number twice, so he decided to get the process going for me to be prepared for Dialysis or a transplant.

At this time, I am working on losing weight, so I can get back active on the Transplant List.

I will again be dealing with Trinity Health in Grand Rapids, formally known as Mercy Health at St. Mary's.

I just recently had a fistula placed in my left arm. I had one in my right arm before, but that one became infected and also had an aneurysm in it, so my doctors removed it.

My current surgeon who did the fistula in my left arm, said he didn't know if this one would work or not, but if it doesn't, we will then work to getting a graft put in.

I'm just hoping that this one will work, but on top of all that, I really want to get a transplant before I have to have Dialysis again.