Taylor's Gift by Tara Storch Read Free Book Online

supposed to leave, someone remembered that Jonathan hadn’t had a blood test in a while. To be safe, it was decided he should have a physical and blood work done before he left.
    The next day his doctor called. “You need to come in immediately. Your results came back, and you have a 45 percent loss in kidney function.”
    Jonathan was terrified. He was supposed to leave for Germany in a week; instead, he found himself at Boulder Community Hospital, where further tests showed he had indeed lost functioning. He had the biopsy they’d discussed so many years before, and it confirmed the doctor’s original diagnosis—IgA nephropathy.
    Why is this happening to me? Why now? he asked himself in a fruitless search for answers. He knew the diagnosis meant he would have to go on kidney replacement therapy of some kind—either dialysis or a transplant. But for now, his doctors felt it was safe for him to go to Germany as long as he saw a doctor there. Despite the whirlwind of medical activity, he left for his year in Germany.

    In Germany, the air had an odd smell to it and things tasted differently than they had back home. His food preferences began to change too. Jonathan had a sweet tooth, and he’d often crave ice cream. But in Germany his sweet tooth disappeared. Now he craved salty foods. He also noticed a taste like metal, or possibly ammonia, in his mouth. His appetite decreased, he tired easily, and he was sleeping more. Jonathan attributed these changes to his new environment.
    By the time Jonathan returned from Germany in February of 2000, it was obvious his kidneys had continued to deteriorate. “You don’t have another year left,” his doctor said. “You’re going to need a transplant before the end of the year.”
    Over the next few weeks, his doctor began the workup required to find a donor and to prepare Jonathan for transplant surgery. Family members were tested, and it was determined his mom was a match. Doctors told him what a privilege it was to bypass the waiting list and just move forward. The surgery was scheduled for November.

    It took almost a year after the transplant before Jonathan was on a manageable dose of steroids, returned to a fit weight, and became more emotionally and physically stable. He moved to his own place and worked as a piano technician. He was also passionate about technology, and on the side, he began building websites. As things stabilized, he went back to school to become an EMT andhad future hopes of becoming an RN and a flight nurse. Things were finally starting to look up.
    But living alone, with a busy schedule, Jonathan didn’t always make the best decisions. There were days he would forget to take his medications. He felt just as good, or possibly even better, on those days, so over time he became even less consistent, then noncompliant. Soon he wondered why he was taking them at all. He stopped taking the medications entirely, and he felt great. The three months that followed were amazing. He felt better than he had since before he went to Germany. His well-being validated his belief that the drugs made him feel lousy. He was right about that—but he was wrong to think he didn’t need them.
    In the summer of 2002 he got really sick with a fever and other symptoms. He caught what he thought was a nasty flu. As it progressed, Jonathan’s mind grew foggy, and he stopped all rational thinking. He lay in bed for weeks, unable to comprehend that he should probably see someone.
    One day he woke up smacking his lips, a vague sensation of metal in his mouth. Then he realized it tasted more like ammonia. That was the wake-up call he needed. With an overwhelming sense of dread, he called his nephrologist (kidney doctor) and made an appointment for that afternoon. The tests confirmed what everyone suspected: Jonathan was rejecting his mother’s kidney.
    He was sent to a hospital in Denver, where they tried drastic drug