Release (Off Balance 3)

"So I have a disorder? Like what my aunt had?"

Dr. DeLang inhaled a deep breath before she continued. "You tested eighty-seven percent positive for lupus. That is way above the minimum. Your red blood cell count has been consistently low, too low." She went over a few other tests, but I was so clueless. All I understood was positive and below normal, and that I had lupus.

Fuck. My head was a mess.

"Remember when I mentioned lupus can affect other organs?" Dr. DeLang looked at me, and I nodded. "Based on your other symptoms and high marker levels, I had your kidney function tested. And now you're telling me you're urinating blood and that your maternal aunt passed away from an autoimmune disease."

"They said it was from the diabetes."

"Do you know what type diabetes she had?" Dr. Kozol asked. "Type 1 is an autoimmune, although, with the MTCD… That is one of the rarer AI's, and the survival rate is low, even if it's caught early. I'm willing to take an educated guess that it was a combination of everything. You probably don't know if it affected her organs, do you?" I shook my head. Why would I think to ask something like that?

"I think it was type 1?" I blinked rapidly and asked, "Are you saying I have what my aunt had?"

"I'm going to let Dr. Kozol take over." Dr. DeLang removed her glasses, her eyes shifting to the man next to me.

Dread consumed my veins. I could feel the weight of his words hanging in the air before he said them. I looked at the doctor but he was already watching me. Goose bumps coated my arms, and I hugged myself, hiding my fists. I wanted to scream out and say no, because if he was going to take over, I knew it wouldn’t be good.

"The blood is coming from your kidneys, and quite frankly, that's extremely concerning. I’d like to have you admitted to the hospital immediately to start treatment and run additional tests."

"I don't understand. What tests, and what is the blood caused from? Treatment for what?"

"Adrianna," he sighed. "There is no other way to put it. Your kidneys are failing."

I paled. "Kidneys? As in both?"

He nodded.

"Both are failing?" My voice was low, cracking. I had to repeat it because I couldn’t believe my ears.

And he nodded again.

A tremor racked my body. Chills tormented my arms and I stared, unblinking at the doctor, trying to process what he’d just said. My kidneys were failing? That wasn't possible and I was sure they were wrong. They felt fine. I felt fine. Hysteria flowed through my veins and I fought to keep calm. My brows furrowed tightly together, and I asked in a quiet voice, "What do… What does this all mean?"

"It means your kidneys are failing at a rapid rate and we need to be proactive now."

A chill washed over me, anchoring me to the chair. I was so cold, my bones aching with brittleness that the magnitude of the situation wasn't hitting me the way it should have. Dr. Kozol went into detail, telling me how much kidney function I had left, but it wasn't registering. I was stone-faced, unblinking, and emotionless. I could hear his voice, but I couldn't process his words into clear sentences. A heavy weight sat in the pit of my stomach, spreading throughout my body. While I wasn't well-versed on the human anatomy, I knew enough to know that if my kidneys were failing and he needed to act now, I was much sicker than I could have ever imagined possible.

My heart pounded against my chest and I started to panic. Now it made sense why he was here. He was a specialist, one who I would be handed over to.

"Adrianna?" Dr. DeLang sat forward. "Did you hear Dr. Kozol?"

I shook my head, and Dr. Kozol was kind enough to repeat what he’d said without making me feel bad that I hadn't listened the first time.

The numbers were alarming. Staggering. The house of cards I'd worked so hard to build were starting to fold, and all I could do was watch them drop to the floor. This was a twist I didn't see coming. It wasn't planned, it shouldn’t have happened, and now I didn't know what to do because the reality was, it was happening no matter what.

"And you're sure?" I asked, my voice shaky.

He nodded gravely. "Without a doubt. Honestly, I'm not sure how you made it this far without visiting an emergency room."

I blinked. My mouth suddenly dry.

I'd been oblivious to the gravity of the symptoms and suddenly felt so naïve and stupid. Had they been so obvious? And, if they had been, would I have acknowledged them?

No.

I wanted my dad. I wanted Avery. I wanted Kova. I wanted to hold someone's hand and for them to tell me everything was going to be okay.

But it never be okay now.