Last time I was in Chi Town was 19 years ago. It was a defining moment in my life. I arrived here to visit family and friends and research on Lupus as I had just been diagnosed and my friend who had passed away had connected me with Lupus foundation. I was very sick at the time but didn’t realize how bad it was.. I got here and the day I went to foundation offices, a doctor looked at me and he knew immediately what was wrong but couldn’t quite tell me. He gave me a nurses manual titled “Lupus & Kidney Failure.” He didn’t tell me I had Kidney failure but was like you should read this. I remember leaving the office in a daze and a part of me dismissing it. I left for Kenya 4 days later, was critically sick on flight ( I was traveling with full blown kidney failure but didn’t know) they had to find a doctor on board to help me out. Landed at JKIA got off plane on wheelchair… Went to hospital they figured I was dehydrated ???????? went home.. And next morning couldn’t get up so had an ambulance rush me back to hospital and the doctor said.. You have kidney failure. I remember feeling lost, terrified and my family just rallying behind me… And that was the beginning of my long journey… 19 years later here I am. Same city different experience… Our lives are muttered with different seasons and sometimes you go back to a place just to remind you of the journey you are on. Today I reflect on how not in control I am of my life, how God in his infinite wisdom takes me where he needs me to be and ministers to my spirit in many ways. Chicago was once a reminder of the “winter” season in my life, as I embark on this Eisenhower journey it has turned into Spring. It’s like Dr. Kher my nephrologist once told me .. “The best thing about winter is that spring is coming..”
Life Story & Inspiration: Lorna Kui Irungu
