Emma Kate

This is Whiney's friend. Read her story below, in her moms words. The Lord is so good-Kim

In 2012 our daughter Emma Kate was getting excited about her 3rd birthday. Just two weeks before the big day we started to notice some changes in her. I could tell she had put on some weight, but since she was getting older I just thought she may be filling out...more than I had expected. Then she caught a virus that included a brief fever, and lethargy. After the fever passed I became very concerned as I noticed she was not getting any better. She was actually getting worse. She started to sleep all the time, she was not eating, and even more concerning, she was not going to the bathroom at ALL. It became apparent that the weight gain was swelling, which quickly turned into pitting edema. We took her back to the doctor and miraculously we were able to get a drop of urine to test while we were there. The doctor came back in the room, very matter of fact and started to explain Emma Kate's protein in her urine was sky high, 300+. The normal healthy person has 0- trace protein. Her kidneys were inflamed and we were sent right to The Children's Hospital.

Once there she was on an IV around the clock to hydrate her, and bring the swelling down. They also started her on high dose steroids. They told us she had Nephrotic Syndrome; it affects 1 in 10,000 kids and has no cure. It is an autoimmune condition that causes the kidneys to be attacked and leak large amounts of protein into the urine. This spillage can lead to serious things like high blood pressure, blood clots, and scarring of the kidneys. Before the creation of steroids, NS had a 90% mortality rate in children. We were told some kids don't respond to the steroids at all and are sent down a long road of chemotherapy and transplants. This was such an overwhelming, dark time for us. We did not know what the future held, but our peace was that we knew God held the future! We remained in fervent prayer.

By the time we went home Emma Kate had lost 6 pounds of water weight, but we had new challenging behaviors and side effects to deal with from a toddler being on such a strong medicine. Every six weeks off the meds she would start to spill again and have to go right back on. It became my mission to get her into a full med free remission! I started to do everything as natural as I could, and sought God's guidance every step of the way. After the first year of ups and downs we made a life change to cut gluten and dairy from our diets, and eat organic as much as possible. God was faithful to lead me down the path of diet change, and we give glory to Him for healing our Emma Kate! She has now been in a med free remission for 21 months! We have learned to trust God like never before. We daily praise Him for His goodness as we humbly remain in prayer for others. We are very excited for Emma Kate's story to be a part of The Asher Foundation and help others!