Episode 8: Valerie Sauccelli’s Triumph Over End-Stage Renal Disease

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What happens when a simple medical consultation turns into a life-altering diagnosis? Discover Valerie Sauccelli’s incredible tale of resilience as she navigates the tumultuous waters of end-stage renal disease, a condition she bravely manages despite the odds. Initially misdiagnosed, Valerie faced the shocking reality of her kidney health when one of her organs completely stopped functioning, and the other was barely hanging on. Her journey highlights the crucial importance of accurate medical diagnoses and the power of perseverance. Listen as Valerie recounts how a personal twist—her then-boyfriend offering his kidney—transformed not only her health journey but her entire life, culminating in their marriage and access to improved healthcare.

Join us as we explore advanced dialysis treatments that offer a beacon of hope for those with precarious kidney health. Hear firsthand accounts from patients, including Valerie, who share their experiences with cutting-edge temporary dialysis procedures, like a revolutionary 24-hour treatment that had a life-saving impact. Learn about the surprising dietary changes, such as embracing a vegetarian lifestyle, that can ease the strain on compromised kidneys. Through these stories, the episode underscores the profound impacts of medical innovation, the necessity of robust support systems, and the relentless spirit required to tackle such formidable health challenges.

With hosts Maurice Carlisle and Ira McAliley

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Music.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
My name is Valerie Sauccelli.
I am age 51.
I live currently in Los AngelesCounty, california, have
end-stage renal disease due tocomplications from juvenile

(00:50):
diabetes at age 11 and what else.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Okay, so you have end-stage renal disease.
When did you find out that youhad end-stage and when did you
start having kidney issues?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh, kidney.
I was diagnosed with kidneycomplications 10, maybe 15 years
ago.
I had a what they thought waskidney failure.
What they thought was kidneyfailure, and because people with

(01:30):
kidney problems cannot have thedye that that they put in you
that's able to see all yourorgans, because it will further
kill your kidney, so they had todo other tests besides that,
which aren't very well, you knowthey don't see very well.
So they did not know that oneof my kidneys completely stopped
working until I moved out here10, 15 years later and found a

(01:57):
kidney doctor who said oh, youknow, you don't have any blood
flow in your left kidney andyour right kidney, you know, is
very bad but it's stillfunctioning.
And the way he says it's stillfunctioning is you're able to
urinate.
So I can't imagine not beingable to urinate Anyway.

(02:20):
So so far, not being able tourinate Anyway, so far I'm still
able to urinate and due to thedialysis I'm on, which is the
peritoneal dialysis and it's onthe machine, there's a manual
and then there's a machine.
I do manual in between themachine and the machine's done

(02:45):
at bedtime, while I sleep, andcurrently I'm on 12 hours of
that a day, which does cut intomy part-time job.
You know, when I get up in themorning, I have to be there at 9
, so I get off at 2.30.
So I'll miss a few hours everyday.

(03:09):
So on the weekend I make up forit by doing the full-on
dialysis on the weekend got it.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
I'm gonna stop and go back just a little bit.
Tell me what it is that you dofor a living.
And actually before you do thatyou were talking about you know
your doctors and that wholeprocess.
What was it like when you firstfound out?
I mean, what were the symptoms?

(03:38):
You said that you went in andthey found out that one of your
kidneys was really down.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
What led?

Speaker 3 (03:43):
up to that.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Funny story about the doctor that diagnosed me.
Um, I had insurance, it was a,it had gone down to hmo but it
was on a cobra, and so I had aprofessional kidney doctor that
I was seeing and he would justcall me in for a blood and urine
test every couple months.

(04:07):
And then, when I was not ableto afford medicine because my
cobra took all the medicine off,so I went to a clinic to get
medicine, they said, well, wehave to treat you, to give you
medicine.
So I said fine, so they took aurine and blood.
And then I came back the nextweek and they said Please sit

(04:31):
down, we have some bad news foryou and I'm like what they said
You're at end stage renaldisease and you need to have a
kidney transplant.
And you know, whoa, whoa andI'm like what you know.
So, um, that's when I droppedthe doctor I had and found

(04:51):
another doctor who what did Imean?

Speaker 3 (04:56):
what did the first doctor say?

Speaker 2 (04:58):
He was just like oh, you know your numbers are, you
know they're slowly gettingworse, but he wasn't showing any
importance, or you or where,end stage renal disease.
He wasn't very informative atall, you know, and I like an
informative doctor, and so atthat time I didn't need him

(05:22):
anymore and I needed someone whowas going to give me more
information.
So then moving forward.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
You were at the clinic and they told you you're
end stage.
What happened from there?

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Well, at that point I had moved away from my then
boyfriend.
We weren't getting along sowell and I went and I told you
know, I was really wondering ifhe really loved me.
So I went and I told him whatthe doctors told me at the
clinic and he said if you needmy kidney, I'll give you one of

(05:58):
my kidneys.
So that was like the answer tomy prayers.
We got married, I got his SAGinsurance, so I had real good
insurance, and so it was amazingbecause my kidney diagnosis
saved my life.

(06:19):
And here's how because when yougo to have a the workup done for
a transplant, they need allthese tests.
They need your heart, they needyour, your colon, your
mammograms, all kinds of x-rays,and.
And so I started doing thecheckoff list of getting all

(06:40):
these tests done, and the lastone was the heart.
So I finally went to the heartand they said oh, you know, we
see, we see something, but wecan't really tell unless we put
that dye in you and do anangiogram.
And I know about the dye, thatit you know, and I already knew

(07:02):
I had one functioning kidney andone not functioning kidney
doctor.
The kidney doctor that told me Ihad one functioning kidney,
offered to do a temporarydialysis, which is a
hemodialysis in the neck, rightafter they put the dye in me and

(07:23):
do the test, then I'll go backup in my room and they'll do 24
hours of dialysis to get thetoxins out of me.
And so I shook his hand.
He goes you know, this hasnever been done before and I
said you're kidding me.
So I'm like how many peopledidn't know about?
Don't know about this?
So anyway, I felt five timesbetter because all the toxins

(07:49):
you know, times better because I, all the talks you know, and I
had since become vegetarian toprolong be going on dialysis,
because I know the creatininefrom, from protein, can you know
, harm the kidney more and more.
So I postponed the dialysis butin the meanwhile I saved my

(08:14):
life by they found a 90% block.