God’s Story

by Linetta Cain

Iremember, as a teenager, hearing my mom tell the stories of my childhood health difficulties. A bad UTI once landing me in Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio. She would then proceed to tell of how God healed me, and there were no complications after that.

Fast forward to the year 1997. Just twenty-one years old, young, happy, my whole life ahead of me! It was my first annual exam. I’m so thankful for the doctor God placed in my life at that moment. She took what she saw seriously and referred me to Shands Nephrology in Gainesville, Florida, where I lived at the time.

After numerous tests and labs, I was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease or CKD. There are five stages of CKD, and I was already showing at stage 2. How did this happen? Why me, God? Please heal me, Lord, was my cry. It was a devastating moment filled with questions, fears, and tears. I felt so alone. What was this degenerative disease going to do to my future? Would I still be able to have children? The list went on.

Then, that warrior spirit rose up within me. I still remember the day. After much research, I created a meal plan that would hopefully help improve creatinine and slow the progression of CKD. It did work, and my lab work started looking better. By 2005, I was only stage 3 and stable. I had moved to the Cleveland area and married. Life was an adventure, but my CKD was always God’s Story... in the back of my mind. I prayed every day for healing and truly believed it would be divine.

Having our daughter in 2009 lowered my kidney function some as expected, but what a blessing from God! Each nephrology appointment, I would hold my breath, anticipating results. I would picture, in my mind, the doctor being amazed by them. My faith was strong! By 2020, About The Author Linetta Cain is wife to Greg, mother to Abigail, and 18-year resident of Cleveland, TN. Her family attends Mt Olive Church of God. Growing up in a minister’s home, Linetta learned at an early age to adapt to change and challenges.

my numbers were declining each visit. Now stage 5, dreading the thoughts of possible dialysis. You see, for 23 years, I had always said I would not need dialysis or transplant because God was going to heal me. I kept my strong faith, but where I went wrong was predicting what God was going to do.

He was writing another story—a painful experience with a beautiful ending.

By 2021, I had been on Vanderbilt’s kidney transplant list for almost five years. For the first time that summer, I was feeling the symptoms of kidney failure—metal taste, chronic fatigue, decreased concentration. During my August nephrology appointment, I said those words I had hoped to never have to say, “Doc, I think it’s time.”

On September 6, 2021, I went to my first dialysis treatment. I was terrified! My dad drove me and prayed with me. I remember crying in fear, like a child again. It was rough! But each week improved, and I started to feel better. The team at my center were now great friends that I looked forward to seeing three times a week. By week four, I was in a routine I could handle!

A phone call I received on December 2, 2021 changed it all. “Mrs. Cain, we have a match for you!” The call from Vanderbilt I had waited on for almost five years was here! One day short of 13 weeks on dialysis and without it, I wouldn’t have been as prepared. On December 3, 2021, after all tests were run to determine a “perfect match,” I received my gift! God ceremoniously orchestrated every step. I’m forever grateful to my donor’s family that chose to donate life in the midst of their heartache. Have there been challenges since? Oh yes! But I see the big picture now. A 25-year puzzle pieced together. God’s story!