Post by sharonPost by Sharon TooNo. In fact a big part of the surgery drama was Anspaugh and Benton saving
his kidney so that he wasn't left with just one.
I haven't read any spoilers, but I suspect that Carter contracted a
disease in Africa (such as leptospirosis or some other parasite or
water/food borne disease) that attacks his kidneys, quickly getting his
'weaker' left one and then his right.
For someone needing dialysis, Carter sure looked good. Not puffy, not
retaining fluid. Hope TPTB don't screw up continuity and say that he lost
a kidney when he was stabbed.
It could also be that, although the kidney was saved during the surgery, it
was badly damaged and eventually failed. There are plenty of viruses and
other illnesses in real life that can destroy the kidneys.
I once knew a guy who was hit by a car and lost his kidney. It was only at
the time of the accident that he discovered his other kidney was
congenitally malformed and non-functional. One kidney can do the job of two
pretty easily. The guy ended up getting a transplant from his mom and did
well. A friend's son was born with one non-functional kidney, too. It was
diagnosed on ultrasound before he was born and confirmed by testing after
birth. He's fine, but his doctors advise against playing contact sports.
My friend thinks that's just fine, watching her two older boys play tackle
football was plenty for her.
Aside from the fact that dialysis is probably not easily obtained in Africa,
it could be that Carter came back to get a donor kidney from a family
member. Although I doubt NBC wants to pay Mary McDonnell, Michael Gross or
the guy who played Chase for a guest spot.
My mother was on dialysis for 4 years before she died. It would be tough to
hold a job because dialysis is time consuming, 4-6 hours 3 times a week and
also is exhausting, but some people do manage to work part time. Of course,
most folks on dialysis are older and have other serious health problems like
diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Since Carter was only asking to pick up
a few shifts here and there and is young and otherwise healthy, he probably
could manage that much. Most dialysis patients who work use peritoneal
dialysis which they can do themselves and doesn't require being tethered to
a machine for hours.
Sharon
to monitor its function. It also only has one ureter and I was banned
from playing contact sports as a kid. Doesn't exactly help your
soccer, basketball, etc. It wasn't until high school when we could