Jodian Duhaney on Rhabdonyolysis

Jodian Duhaney was always one for adventure. The avid world traveller also made it her mission to put fitness first. Until one day, everything changed. She shared her shocking discovery in an one-on-one interview with Flair Magazine.

"I went to the gym as I normally did weekly, but one evening, after reaching home and using the bathroom, I noticed something strange: my urine wasn't the typical yellow; it was red," Duhaney revealed.

Concerned, she called her trainer at the time who advised her to drink a lot of water. She adhered to the recommendation ,but found the following morning that there was no change, "As crazy as this may sound, it didn't bother me, since she told me initially that it would go away, so in my mind, it was just taking a while to pass. But by the night of the following day, I saw small blood clots in my urine." That's when her fiance rushed her to the hospital.

Tests upon tests later, the doctors still couldn't come up with a diagnosis, "My CPK level was way in the thousands and my blood work showed no sign of pee. Dr Tanisha McGhie, who asked every question in the book, was more curious as to how and why I wasn't in pain, more than anything else. She, along with another doctor, called every specialist they knew, exhausting every possible way of treatment. Black was given to me and I was later transferred to Cornwall Regional Hospital."

After the transfer, Dr Marr's assistant quickly ruled out lupus for the young patient, along with a line of different illnesses. She later found out that she had rhabdomyolysis.

According to WebMd, "Rhabdomyolysis is a serious syndrome due to a direct or indirect muscle injury. It results from the death of muscle fibres and release of their contents into the bloodstream. This can lead to serious complications such as renal (kidney) failure. This means that the kidneys cannot remove waste and concentrated urine. In rare cases, rhabdomyolysis can even cause death. However, prompt treatment often brings a good outcome."

Sickle Cell Trait

To her knowledge, she had the sickle cell trait, but was informed that she now had the cells. They found small clots creating a blockage and once they cleared that, she started to feel unbearable pain.

Currently, some days are great. But then there are others where she feels extreme discomfort in the joints of her hands and legs. So much so, that her fiance, Tafari Forbes, has to take care of her, "He lifts me up and carries me to the bathroom just to bathe me. Sometimes I can't stand, so he gives me a bath. I'm very independent, so this was hard for me to accept, but I have to trust that I can lean on him for support and that he's got my back no matter what."

She stays hydrated at all times and maintains a healthy diet. While she isn't allowed to lift weights in the gym, she gets physical with aerobics classes, proceeding with caution. She still taps into her inner Dora and explores the great outdoors with her main man by her side. As for her sickle cell, she's told that it will become a trait again, so she's hopeful.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com