How a rare disease has brought me JOY!

I'm pretty sure it wasn't until my husband and daughter caught me chugging orange juice straight out of the container from the fridge that they finally suggested I see a doctor. For weeks prior to that, I had been complaining of feeling thirsty all of the time, but this was getting out of control. I was going through at least 3 large jugs of orange juice on a daily basis, not to mention what seemed like a million trips to fill my water cup.

Finally, I agreed - something just wasn't right.

So I went to the doctor, thinking for sure I either had kidney failure, diabetes, or a brain tumor. (My mind goes to bad places sometimes, what can I say). Test results came back only to find that I had anemia. Anemia?? That wasn't even on my radar. I thought it was a bit odd that I would develop this condition when I'm not a vegetarian or anything...but after the age of 35 they say that it's all pretty much downhill, so I accepted the diagnosis and began a regimen of iron supplements.

Unfortunately, after two weeks of taking iron, I really wasn't feeling much better and my thirst had grown to an almost unbearable degree. I was tired. I was sick. I was cranky. It wasn't fun.

I decided to go back to my doctor to get more tests done, which led me to a 3-hour glucose test. This was to rule out Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. During this test, I was instructed to drink a really disgusting bottle of liquid sugar (if you've ever had a baby before you know what I'm talking about), and then sit in their office with no food or water for the next three hours so they could take my blood every 60 minutes.

I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me how difficult this test would be for me - since, you know, I was in the habit of chugging liquids now straight from the fridge. There really are no words to describe the feeling I had during those three hours except for torture. Dramatic? Maybe - But seriously - It. Was. Torture.

Just as I wanted to bawl my eyes out from the sheer physical discomfort I was feeling, God intervened and appropriately snapped me out of my little pity party.

You know this is temporary. There are people in other parts of this world who aren't so lucky. You will be able to drink water when this is all through. There are people in other parts of the world who aren't so lucky. You have a way to quench your thirst all day long. There are people in other parts of the world who aren't so lucky. 

You might say I'm a bit slow to catch on to things. I admit it, I am. It wasn't until that moment that I realized the amazing, ironic connection in the timing of my "mysterious" symptoms. Here I had just decided to raise money for a water well to give people access to clean water. I hadn't thought about clean water much before this. It just sort of happened. And at the same time,  I just sort of "happened" to feel thirsty 100% of the time.

Again, the test results showed that I did not have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, and my doctor sent me on my way.

Over the course of the next few weeks, my symptoms got worse.

Allow me to put this in perspective for you. This is what my night stand looked like pretty much every morning when I woke up.

And still, nothing seemed to quench my thirst.

Soon, my hands began to literally shrivel up.

Then, they began to form white dry spots all along my creases....

Next, they began to crack and bleed....

My nose had no moisture either, so I stopped being able to breathe through it properly. This is especially problematic when you have very little saliva, as you have to breathe through a dry mouth all day long.

I began to feel weak, shaky, my heart started to beat out of my chest with just the smallest amount of exertion, my head started to pound nearly all day long.

I have never experienced anything like it --which makes sense, since I've never been dehydrated for WEEKS -- have you?

I can't believe there are people and children alive today that experience this as their reality. A constant reality. And what's worse, if they decide to quench their unbearable thirst, most often it's with the knowledge that they are risking disease from contaminated water. What a horrible choice to have - either continue being that thirsty and dehydrated, or drink something contaminated that will make you sick. Talk about torture.

Thank goodness I was able to finally get a clear diagnosis once I saw an endocrinologist. I actually DO have diabetes, only it's a very rare form that has nothing to do with blood sugar. I have what's called diabetes insipidus - otherwise known as "water diabetes". 

Get a load out of that one! 

This particular form of diabetes actually means that my body is no longer able to conserve its own WATER.

And you know what I felt when I got that confirmation?? 

JOY! 

I felt joy!

 I kept thinking of that verse in the Bible:

"Consider it PURE JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face TRIALS of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops PERSEVERANCE." 

         (James 1:2-3)

I really just have to smile at God's perfect timing, and I feel HONORED to be able to relate to people in impoverished countries, THIRSTY people, on a completely new level.

I do have medication that will take my thirst away - praise God, I'm so blessed! 

I can only take two a day, and so far, it lasts about 11 hours. So,  I have one or two hours in every day, usually first thing in the morning and again in the evening, when God reminds me of what it's like to be physically thirsty. Two hours a day when He gives me the joy and the perseverance to continue to do His good work here on Earth, for people who aren't just physically thirsty, but spiritually thirsty as well. Two hours a day when I am reminded that He is truly the only one who can ever satisfy us.

“Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”

(Proverbs 25:25)