To make matters even worse, the symptoms got so bad that I couldn't be the grandmother I wanted to be for the people who matter most to me.
It was October 12th, a date I'll never forget.
We were celebrating James's 6th birthday in our back garden. All the neighborhood children were coming over, and James had been talking about his superhero-themed party for weeks.
All I had to do was help set up some decorations and serve the cake.
Simple enough, right?
Wrong.
The morning started with me struggling just to blow up balloons. I had to stop every few minutes because I felt so winded.
By noon, my ankles were so swollen I had to change from my nice sandals into loose slippers.
I was trying to hide my discomfort from the other grandmothers who were cheerfully hanging streamers and arranging the garden games.
Halfway through the party, right before the cake ceremony, I had to excuse myself and lie down.
The fatigue wasn't just tiredness — it was like every cell in my body was screaming for rest.
From my bedroom, I could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung, James's delighted laughter, the clapping and cheering.
I missed singing "Happy Birthday" to my own grandson.
That night, I found a piece of cake wrapped in a napkin on my nightstand with a crayon note from James: "Feel better soon Grandma. Love you!"
I cried myself to sleep. I couldn't keep missing these precious moments with my grandchildren.
Something had to change.
And God knows how close I was to making that call to the dialysis clinic.
Luckily, everything changed when I ran into an old friend who led me to discover a completely different solution for my failing kidneys.