Valerie's Story
When Valerie Day found out she was suffering from kidney failure, she couldn’t believe it.
In November 2017, Day found out her kidneys were failing due to End Stage Renal Disease.
The 58-year-old grandmother from Newhall had not experienced any changes in her health and she was feeling better than ever when doctors gave her the news.
“I was at my lowest weight ever and I thought I was doing very well,” said Day. “I didn’t have any symptoms, so when they told me my kidneys were failing I had a hard time believing it.”
It was all a surprise because her family history doesn’t include any health issues, let alone any kidney issues. It was only after a routine check up for a previous brain injury, as a result of a car accident, that Day found out about her condition. “My neurologist wanted to do an MRI on my brain, so I did blood tests on Monday and on Tuesday night the doctor called me and said ‘We need you to get to the hospital right away,’” Day recalled.
It turned out that because Day was taking a biotin supplement, her kidneys were being affected.“A biopsy pointed to biotin as the root cause and I’m the first recorded case ever,” said Day. Although she was following the instructions on the biotin supplement bottle, taking one a day, she says she suspects it was a combination of things that led her to this point. In 2005, Day had gastric bypass surgery to help her shed the extra pounds that were affecting her health and self-esteem.
“I think it’s possible that the two went hand-in-hand,” she added. “I was taking the largest dose of biotin to avoid having my hair fall out after the surgery.” Unfortunately, Day’s health test results were getting worse, leading to a nine-night stay in the hospital in April 2018. During that time, she gained 22 pounds because of the kidney failure.
“They could see the weight gain every single day, so my doctors decided I would have to start dialysis in the hospital,” she said. It was here where her dialysis journey began. She currently visits the dialysis center in Newhall three to four times a week, receiving treatment in a chair for four hours.
“Right now doctors still have me on a restricted diet and I can’t eat any dark greens, or bananas because they have potassium, or oranges because they contain phosphorus,” said Day. “I also can’t have my favorite, chocolate.” Day says her body cramps after a session of dialysis and her legs swell to the point where she loses sleep, but she hasn’t lost hope.
“God has a plan and I know he knows what I’m supposed to go through with this,” added Day. “I just hope I’ll be able to live long enough to see and do what I want.”
The grandmother says she would be grateful if anyone would simply consider going through the tests to see if they were her match.
“Consider the idea that in southern California it’s a 12-year wait to get a kidney if you don’t have a donor and some people die waiting,” said Day. Day is currently on the kidney recipient list at USC and is scheduled to have her first in-person interview on April 2.
“I’m not afraid of bad news,” added Day. “I know I’ll be fine whether I’m with the Lord or on earth, but I’d like to be here because I have an 11-year-old granddaughter that I want to see grow up and I also want to see my daughter get married.”
“I’m going to be a fighter and keep trying,” added Day. “I am humbly grateful for the prayers and good wishes because I know something good is going to happen.”
