Gary almost died from acute kidney failure last week. I took him to the ER on Monday morning after returning the previous day from a 7-day cruise along the Mexican Riviera with 25 friends from our church. During the trip, he was tired and boring - not at all the effervescent, funny, sarcastic, goofy Gary we know and love. He told me he was just exhausted from work. His symptoms were more like seasickness, but he doesn't get seasick (well, maybe once a few years ago, but we won't discuss that - sore subject). By Friday he was slurring his words and of course, that had nothing to do with several tequila shots earlier in the week at Sr. Frog's in Mazatlan. When he finally agreed to go to the hospital, I practically had to carry him. The ER doc said if we'd waited 72 more hours, they couldn't have saved him. He's one lucky guy. He was discharged 3 days later and his diagnosis was Kidney Failure due to Hyper Calcemia - from popping 8 to 10 Tums every day for a few months, along with Advil for his knees. Watch those over-the-counter drugs and do call your doctor if your condition persists longer than three days. No amount of tequila could have helped him dissolve the calcium build-up caused by high quantities of "killer" antacids and "evil" anti-inflammatories. No amount of my nagging could have stopped him from taking the stuff, either. Maybe someone else can learn from our experience and save their kidneys from a lot of grief!
