On October 4 2025, while at dinner with my friends for my Bachelorette, I noticed an abnormal, intense swelling in my calves and ankles. After dismissing it as related to the boots I was wearing, I experienced full leg swelling on October 6th while teaching dance. A call to my primary care from a scared bride to be landed me a blood test and then a urine test. Each one brought results he didn’t like. With my wedding less than 9 days away, Dr. Kumar pulled strings and got me in with a nephrologist, Dr. Iida, within 48 hours. On October 9th I completed 16 different blood test, a 24 hour urinalysis, and 3 other urine tests. After what felt like both forever, and also no time at all, 1 by 1 test results came in ruling out 1 of the 12 possible kidney diseases you can diagnose via blood test. (The 88 others must be diagnosed by biopsy)

On October 16th, 24 hours before our wedding, my doctor called with my first diagnosis. My blood tested positive for the PLA2r antibody, a homerun indicator for Primary Membranous Nephropathy, which is an Auto Immune Disease of the Kidneys. I had severe proteinuria and low levels of albumin which caused swelling in my lower body daily. I was prescribed a low dosage of Lisinopril and began taking it promptly. A kidney biopsy was scheduled and then cancelled given this diagnosis.

Late November rolled around with very little progress. I developed a cold around Thanksgiving and noticed the edema was progressively getting worse. It was moving up my body settling in my abdomen and arms in addition to my legs. In an effort to help the water retention, I took 2 doses of Furosemide over two days, a diuretic used for patients with swelling issues. On Saturday November 29th, I woke up to my entire body swollen, including my face and scalp. Little did I know, the diuretic had dehydrated my blood cells so much, my kidneys could not get enough blood flow to produce urine. My body was full of trapped water while I was simultaneously dehydrated. John, being the wonderful husband he is, took me to urgent care for when they opened and I passed out while waiting in line. One ambulance ride later, I was admitted to the hospital.

While there, it was brought to my attention that my kidney function was progressively getting worse while my potassium spiked indicating a risk for heart complications. I underwent a CT Scan for blood clots, blood tests every 3 hours, an echocardiogram and an urgent kidney biopsy (which is my saving grace) 

I was in the hospital for 3 days and over the course of that time was told several "scary" things. John and I were informed we should consider a fertility specialist and look into egg retrieval relatively quickly given the toll the next form of treatment for PMN would take on my body. 

On December 1st, I was released from the hospital and sent home to await my biopsy results. I went untreated for Nephrotic Syndrome and PMN for 2 weeks only relying on Blood Thinners as my albumin level was so low, I was a high blood clot risk. During this time, I was out of work completely and did my best to manage day to day function. At this point, I was carrying around about 20lbs of trapped fluid and was unable to wear shoes and my own clothing. I could not stand for more than 20 mins at a time given the swelling in my feet and woke up several mornings unable to recognize my face. 

On December 15th, my nephrologist called to review my biopsy results. Turns out, there’s no trace of Primary Membranous Nephropathy in my kidneys at all. The tissue samples they took were completely nonreactive, leading to more extensive testing discovering my new diagnosis, Minimal Change Disease. A kidney disease that involves the cells around the kidneys and is very common in children but more rare in adults. This new diagnosis was huge because it took me out of intense immunosuppressive treatment territory and into a cocktail of medications at home. He shared with me that up until my case, if a person tested positive for the PLA2r antibody in their blood, it was a guaranteed positive diagnosis for PMN. In my case, the antibody did not correlate with the disease in my kidney and had landed me the title of “Medical Case Study”
 

My case will be presented to a board of kidney specialists to reshape how someone is tested for PMN moving forward and to hopefully push for more kidney biopsies for accurate results. 

I began treatment on December 17th. By December 31st, I had lost 23lbs, was no longer experiencing any edema, minimal signs of proteinuria and could comfortably wear my own clothes and function. After just 3 weeks of treatment, my first round of blood and urine tests showed remarkable signs of improvement. My body was responding at the rate a child typically does during treatment for Minimal Change Disease.

On January 22nd, after only 5 weeks of treatment, my doctor cleared me to begin slowly weaning off the treatment plan. At this time, nothing is in my control at all. There is a 50/50 chance the disease could come back or I could remain in remission. Slow and steady wins the race, every 5 days my dosage will decreased by 10mg. 

It is with A LOT of emotions that I over share all this information. March is Kidney Disease Awareness Month and up until October 2025, I probably wouldn’t have given two shits that it was. I've struggled a lot during all of this. I blamed myself constantly. I was convinced I did something wrong in life and that’s how I wound up with kidney disease. But like most things in life, it was always out of my control. After many hours of therapy, journaling, crying my eyes out and giving myself a million pep talks, I decided if life wanted to throw me these lemons, I better make some god damn lemonade. 

I am raising money for the National Kidney Foundation and participating in their Walk on Sunday, October 4, 2026. That is 1 year since my symptoms of Nephrotic Syndrome and Minimal Change Disease manifested. If you'd like to join on the walk, I'd love to have you on my team Sam's Sad Kidneys!

Kidney Disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the US. About 90% of individuals with kidney disease don’t even know they have it because symptoms are not always radical and easy to identify. With this, many people get diagnosed too late leading to irreversible kidney damage. 

I have a lot going for me this year, turning 30, hopefully achieving remission and doing what I can to help someone else get the proper answers and treatment that they deserve.

I need to thank every doctor, nurse, secretary and lab technician who played a part in my journey. Dr. Eric Iida and Dr. Pradeep Kumar are two people I owe SO MUCH to. A special thank you to my mom and my husband for literally holding me together during some of the hardest days of my life. Let’s do something about Kidney Disease!!!!!