What to say:

Discuss your lifestyle

Tell your doctor about your diet, alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical activity and medications or supplements you take Share your full health history or tomatoes, canned foods or dairy products.

“You end up looking at every single label. A 10-minute trip takes two hours.”

Among the 13 pills he takes daily is one that binds phosphorus so his body can expel it.

He can’t enjoy the outdoors like he used to.

“Everything’s minimized because you get so fatigued,” he said. “I get up, I go to dialysis, I go to work. On days off you have to rest to recharge your energy.”

While Torres said there’s no limit to the time a person can undergo dialysis, it has been shown to shorten life span. So he’s on the transplant list, which means he shouldn’t travel more than two hours from home. His brother and some friends have been screened for possible donation, but don’t have the type O blood he has.

And so he goes to dialysis, and waits for a donor kidney. While he waits he thinks about the fact that he hadn’t gotten regular checkups, which he considers a “stubborn man” thing.

“Get checked regularly,” Torres advised. When the doctor tells you to go get a blood panel, do it. Don’t wait.

“My wife pushed me. If she hadn’t pushed me, I would have died.”

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @Hkrinella on Twitter.