Retired Nurse Reverses Kidney Lab Decline and Avoids Dialysis Conversations

Hi, my name is Sarah Washington. I live in San Antonio, Texas, and I'm a retired nurse. For years, I'd had CKD in relation to, uh, type 2 diabetes, but recently, right before finding Dr. Irfan, I had had a acute kidney injury that they tried to treat with steroids, which worked for a while, but then it didn't, you know, it rebounded. And, you know, they started having the conversation. I don't wanna say the word, but the conversation, and I just, I didn't want that, so I started looking around for different options, and that's when I found Dr. Irfan. Well, I was just trying to go by the book at the time. You know, the medication that they gave me for diabetes, the medication they gave me for, uh, high blood pressure and all of that, but it just seems like my numbers just kept getting worse and worse and worse, and I, I just wasn't satisfied with that. So I think I just Googled it and, you know, looked her up or whatever, and, uh, when I spoke to her, I knew I wanted to work with her. I wanted her to work with me because it wasn't just all doom and gloom and, you know, all of that, and I liked that. Well, the price was, you know, it, an issue because my money's not unlimited. Financially, it was a sacrifice, but, you know, I'm a Libra, we put stuff on the scale, right? And so I was like, if I try it and if I don't try it, you know? So the try it cames out, came out higher on the scale than if I didn't try it, 'cause like I said, they were already having the conversation with me. The first time I went to Houston, uh, that was my first in-person visit, and I was really surprised that all my labs had improved after the first, you know, after the first visit. And after that, I was, like, all in. I was like, everything, everything improved. I liked it. The biggest thing I can say, and I might say it over and over again, is that I have hope. Before this, there, there didn't seem to be any hope, and now I have hope, you know, and I'm not gonna give up, and that w- that's some things that she instilled in me. I go through my day differently. I wake up differently, you know. It's not a dread anymore. It's, like, another day to try to get it right, you know? Well, I was surprised that there was so much help and so much support, you know, with the, the dietician and the mind and body and, and when I went down there, you know, the therapies and stuff like that. I was really surprised at how much support there was, how much attention there was. If you're thinking about working with the Kidney Institute, I would do it. I would highly recommend it.