Dear Davita- My Kidney Disease Journey
Introduction
In December of 2022 my life took a drastic turn. I had been struggling with weight gain, trouble breathing, fluid retention in my legs and an overall feeling of unwellness and fatigue. Multiple specialists and my GP of several years were unsure of what exactly was going on. I honestly thought it was my penance for years of not taking the best care of my health. I went to a pulmonologist on December Fourteenth. Doc said I was walking around with twenty pounds of toxic fluid in my legs. He said I am not sure how you are standing. Again, I was sure I was suffering from a rare, self-inflicted condition known as FBS. Fat Bastard Syndrome. (well not that rare really) Doc said go get blood work at your regular GP and let’s see what’s happening. I got into the GP on the Fifteenth and blood work came back the next day. GP Doc called my cell and asked “Are you home? Are you alone? If you are unable to transport yourself to the hospital, call 911. Your kidneys have shut down.” He stated I have called Mary Washington (the medical facility, not the first first lady) they are expecting you!
I was devastated.
Who is Dave Smith?
My name is Dave Smith. I honestly cannot say how many times I have said that. It’s like my best opening line for those that know me and even better for those that don’t. A proud New Yorker and a prouder native Brooklynite. I am second generation Irish American Catholic. I grew up in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn in the seventies. I was mostly a good kid, although sometimes a good kid does bad stuff. That doesn’t necessarily make him a bad kid. We moved to Rockaway when I was in tenth grade. My senior year of high school, I took a job in a local bar called the Claddagh Pub in Rockaway Beach. I was sixteen. I made it through high school due to the kindness of an excellent culinary arts instructor. Mrs. Lauro. I loved cooking, I loved food. I wound up with extra credits for student teaching in culinary arts and graduated with honors on stage. I continued to tend bar and then got a job at a Carvel store on Flatbush Ave and Cortelyou Road. They paid in cash and well for the time. A lifetime commitment to the love of food service in so many ways began with this longing to make money. I managed a second Carvel stores in Bay Ridge that paid well enough that I did not have to supplement with nights at the bar. I ran Carvel stores for about five years. I enjoyed what I did. It was great fun but the bar business beckoned me back this time of legal age to do so. I began gigs at a few different places in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Some lasted, some did not. I worked banquets at the Waldorf Astoria. I worked as bar manager at the Olde Homestead Steakhouse for years and ran the gourmet shop for over a year. I started a few fledgling businesses and drove taxis. Then I landed a great job at a local bar called The Blackwater Inn. I loved it so much I moved in upstairs. I met my wife at the Blackwater Inn. Fast forward - life moves ahead, and we are married and I am applying for jobs with benefits. I got a phone call saying there is a job fair, and this company has good paying jobs with benefits. Thirty fourth street in Manhattan. We get there and there is a line down the block. The company was Federal Express, I was hired on March 16th, 1993.