Guest guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Hi Liz Now I see what you mean. I remember we discussed this before a little bit. People, including parents and the patient him/herself, are often in a sort of denial about diseases like this. I personally don't think it necessarily limits your son in any way, but the Naval Academy might not feel the same way. On the other hand, IgAN or not, girlfriends are a powerful attraction no matter what. I have a 19-year old, so I've been there. Fathers can be the toughest nut to crack, and, I resemble that remark! Pierre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Hi Liz, I am glad you could blow off steam here. That is what we are here for! I often say that sometimes I think having a loved one with a chronic disease is just as hard if not sometimes harder than us having the disease. For us as patients, it is just a part of our lives, but the consequences and limitations are often harder for family members to accept than for us. I think with IgAN, it is even harder because we look perfectly fine on the outside. There are no obvious visual indications that we are afflicted with a chronic disease. I know it has to be hard on you to be between caring for and dealing with your unbelieving husband at the same time. I think my husband had a very hard time believing I had IgAN all the way up until I was put on the kidney transplant list. There is hope for acceptance! My mom always said as long as you are breathing there is hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 I had many relatives who didn't really believe I had anything until the day I started dialysis, believe it or not. Not only that, you would be surprised the number of people I run into who think dialysis is just to make me feel better, as opposed to keeping me alive, and that my diet is an optional thing that I insist on doing! Many dialysis patients I know report the same thing. Pierre Re: 's activity level > Hi Liz, > > I am glad you could blow off steam here. That is what we are here for! > > I often say that sometimes I think having a loved one with a chronic disease is just as hard if not sometimes harder than us having the disease. For us as patients, it is just a part of our lives, but the consequences and limitations are often harder for family members to accept than for us. > > I think with IgAN, it is even harder because we look perfectly fine on the outside. There are no obvious visual indications that we are afflicted with a chronic disease. I know it has to be hard on you to be between caring for and dealing with your unbelieving husband at the same time. I think my husband had a very hard time believing I had IgAN all the way up until I was put on the kidney transplant list. There is hope for acceptance! My mom always said as long as you are breathing there is hope. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 Pierre, My family was a little supportive at first. Then they read the websites that said IGA was a " benign " disease and no cause for concern. It wasn't until they could see a physical decline this past year that they began to understand. Some websites, certainly not yours, have information that is outdated. My sister read on one that IGA was a one time occurance and would not cause future problems. Don't we wish that were true. My family still doesn't talk about it much. I guess they don't know what is allowed as no one in my family has ever been sick. As far as the military, I had this discussion with my neph just a couple of weeks ago. We were discussing medical screenings for law enforcement. He didn't know about law enforcement but stated that he knew it was a problem with the military if you had blood in your urine. He went on to explain that he had had a patient who wanted to join the service but was unable to do so because of this problem. He said he wrote letters trying to explain but they would not take her. It would probably be best to talk to the recruiters honestly about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 The thing with military service if you have IgAN is that, it really isn't in the IgAN patient's best interests, even if accepted. Training and exercises, not to mention real war, can be extremely demanding physically. When you add to that the exposure to extremes of weather, the compulsory vaccinations for all kinds of things, etc., it's not really an ideal environment to prevent the progression of a disease like IgAN in the long run. Just my opinion, though. Pierre Re: 's activity level > Pierre, > > My family was a little supportive at first. Then they read the websites that > said IGA was a " benign " disease and no cause for concern. It wasn't until > they could see a physical decline this past year that they began to understand. > Some websites, certainly not yours, have information that is outdated. My > sister read on one that IGA was a one time occurance and would not cause future > problems. Don't we wish that were true. My family still doesn't talk about > it much. I guess they don't know what is allowed as no one in my family has > ever been sick. > > As far as the military, I had this discussion with my neph just a couple of > weeks ago. We were discussing medical screenings for law enforcement. He > didn't know about law enforcement but stated that he knew it was a problem with > the military if you had blood in your urine. He went on to explain that he had > had a patient who wanted to join the service but was unable to do so because > of this problem. He said he wrote letters trying to explain but they would > not take her. It would probably be best to talk to the recruiters honestly > about it. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.