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An Unplanned Adventure
Lori Vivian, 42, from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, was diagnosed with kidney disease in the fall of 2001. At the time of her diagnosis, the wife and mother of three grown boys says she was just getting ready to live life on her own terms. Her youngest son was leaving home and Lori and her husband had plans to travel and enjoy the outdoors. In her own words, Lori describes the difficult and valuable lessons she learned during the first two years of living with ESRD.
“When I first got the news, it was kind of like getting hit by a truck. I thought to myself ‘this just stinks.’ I went home from the doctor stunned and scared. My friend, a nurse, and I looked up ‘ESRD’ in one of her medical books. I wanted to know the facts about what I was facing. I am a person who believes information shall always set you free.
“I learned that there is no cure, only treatment. It wasn’t what I had imagined, in a perfect world where I was in charge. But I decided to do the best I could. I found the bright side of this illness: There’s not as much pain as there are in other illnesses. That’s a gift. So I learned the lingo, measured my life by liters of intake, rode the exercise bike and learned to get used to needles stuck in my arm. I started dialysis three days a week, four hours a visit, and made friends with other patients.
“Two years later, I can say that I’m learning to live life without a plan, without a safety net. That has turned out to be the ultimate adventure. I was the person who actually listened to the airline stewardess when she pointed out the emergency exits. I made lists and always made sure the ‘just in cases’ were covered. Now, I live everyday with the ‘Big Plan.’ I wake up and face today.”
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