Hello friend, I recently wrote a post to a Quora question.
And the answer did well, so I thought I would share it here.
Here is the exact breakdown of my Quora answer to the question:
What’s something you recently learned that shocked you?
THE MOMENT I REALISED I WAS MISSING AN ORGAN
Although not recently, I’m still quite shocked and surprised when I think about a specific moment in my life.
This is my story
In 2022, I started lifting heavy weights too soon after I had Covid, and I got a condition called Costochondritis that lasted several weeks (Costochondritis means having inflammation around the cartilage surrounding your ribs).
I complained to the doctor about the rib and chest pain I was getting, so he ordered me a chest and stomach ultrasound for further investigation to see what was happening.
So I had an appointment booked, and I went to it, but upon having the ultrasound, the radiographer finished, and she told me everything was fine, but there was one thing she had to tell me.
She said they could only see one kidney.
And I thought to myself, with my rudimentary understanding of physiology and anatomy, that this was not normal and that most people are born with two kidneys.
The aftermath
Upon finding out the news, I went pale as if I’d seen a ghost. I was completely shocked, but then the radiographer told me not to worry and that I was in very good health (upon seeing my blood and urine tests) because, apparently, you can live healthily and live a normal life span with one kidney.
I then spoke to my general practitioner, and he mentioned that the ultrasound detected that I was born with one kidney, as previously mentioned and told me that my kidney has adapted to do the work of two kidneys because my health markers and my blood tests came back as if I had two kidneys.
I was never the same after hearing this news
Although my health is fine, it really made me think that you never truly know what is going on in your body. I mean, I’m missing an organ.
So I’ve learned to treat my body very carefully because people are too quick to neglect their bodies without even truly understanding what is going on in them.
Being born with one kidney is called Renal agenesis, and about 1/1000 babies are born with it
Apparently, many people are walking around with only one kidney without even knowing it. And to be honest, if you live a healthy life, then you probably don’t even need to know, but I was just very shocked after hearing this news. More shocked than after any other time in my life, but at least I know.
Treat your body like a temple, and you can’t go wrong
I’ve learnt that none of us has perfect health and we never will, it’s completely out of our control as it’s not up to us what bodies we are born into. We can’t choose the best parts like we would when building a car.
But we have full control over how we treat our bodies. Treat your body well, and you will be doing everything in your power to stay in good health. Having good health is underrated. Investing in your health is the best investment you can make, more so than obtaining all the gold in the world.
I want to drive home the point that you never truly know what’s going on in your body, so treat it well.
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