Courtney's Care Packages for You

Part Three: How I went from 20 medications to none — and saved my own life.
Here I was.
A mother of two.
I was down to twelve medications.
No more diabetes—but exhausted in a way I didn’t know was possible.
Adding another child to my life wasn’t exactly well planned, and the truth is… my health was already a serious problem. I just didn’t know how to take it seriously yet.
I spent the next five years in and out of treatment for my kidneys.
Recurring kidney stones.
Constant infections.
Antibiotics over and over again.
Until one day, those antibiotics caused an anaphylactic reaction.
I collapsed on my bathroom floor—half conscious—while something was burning in the oven and my kids were once again almost left without their mother.
Specialists told me plainly:
With what was going on, I would likely need dialysis by the time I was 28.
That was the moment fear turned into clarity.
I knew something had to change. And shortly after that day, God started answering my prayers.
I had been seeing five different kidney specialists locally. On a whim, I was referred to a doctor an hour away. By pure chance, it was his last day seeing patients at that location—he was moving his practice several hours away to his vacation home.
That appointment saved my life.
And he never even knew it.
He told me something five other specialists never once mentioned:
My diet.
At the time, I was on eight medications just for my kidneys.
He canceled every single one.
Instead, he said:
“Follow a low-oxalate diet. Get curious. Watch how your body responds.”
That was it.
No fear tactics.
No more prescriptions.
Just responsibility, curiosity, and trust in my body.
And that, my friends, is where my journey of self-love truly began.
That was the moment I woke up to a system that was keeping me sick—and decided I wanted to live. Not just survive. Live. For myself. For my kids.
Six months later: no more infections.
Over the next year: no more procedures. No more kidney stones.
And over time, my kidneys fully healed.
Today—20 years later—my kidneys are functioning and healthy.
Today, I take zero medications.
I take pride in my health journey.
In the choices I had to make.
In the courage it took to question, to learn, and to listen to my body when no one else would.
If my story does anything, I hope it inspires you to listen to your own body—and to take action to love yourself better too.
Thank you for reading. 🤍