In the beginning-transplant: ESRF

Monday, November 3, 2014

Moving Right Along

With the advent of my friend and co-conspirator's upcoming book, Dancing with Rejection, I am compelled to re-ignite this blog in hopes of continuing to serve all of our fellow kidney patients.

You see, my friend and nearly world-renowned artist Michael Gaudet is in the final stages of publishing his debut book (read more about it here), and when he kindly shared the link for my blog, I realized it needed a little attention!

My aim for this blog is to provide a myriad of resources for pre- post- and current kidney patients and their families. If you aren't sure you fall into one of these categories, ask yourself the following questions:

Have I/Am I/Do I or someone I know...

... been diagnosed with ESRD (End-Stage Renal Disease)?
... been diagnosed with ESRF (End-Stage Renal Failure)?
... on dialsyis?
... on the waiting list to receive a transplant?
... received a kidney or kidney/pancreas transplant?
... seeing a nephrologist (kidney doctor)?
... suffer from diabetes that has led to kidney complications?
... have recurrent kidney infections leading to scar tissue?
... ever donated a kidney?

I propose a challenge!

Let's see how many people we can help with the following experiment:

Ask 6 of your friends to ask six of their friends to ask six of their friends (that's 18 people for each reader to reach out to, however indirectly) if they or someone they know have experience with kidney issues. Use the above list to help you frame your question(s).

My hypothesis is that, regardless of your social circle, you will find at least 5 of those 18 people are experiencing (or have experienced) severe kidney issues. Or know someone that has. And as the circle widens, that number will also increase, and probably exponentially.

When you find those people, alert them to helpful resources. Knowledge is power, after all!

Some resources you can share include:

National Kidney Foundation (U.S.) www.kidney.org
National Kidney Foundation (Canada) www.kidney.ca
National Institute of Health (U.S.) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/kidneydiseases.html
The Renal Association (UK) http://www.renal.org/information-resources/the-uk-eckd-guide
Davita Healthcare http://www.davita.com/
This blog! www.christinadgeorge.blogspot.com
Kidney Health Australia http://www.kidney.org.au/
Body and Health Canada http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=249
Renal Support Network http://www.rsnhope.org/ (Lori Hartwell, author of Chronically Happy)

Also, be sure to see my "Resource" link for more info, including children's literature to help them deal with it personally or indirectly.

The Beginning of what, you ask?

To refrain from being completely esoteric, I
have amended this a bit. This blog is titled
"In the Beginning-transplant" because for me, 
my first transplant was the beginning of me,
in a way.

Sure, I had been around for 17 years prior
to this (sorry to be so cliche') new 
beginning. But after the age of 5 (judging 
by my school photos), my childhood was not
full of growth, but rather a mere "hanging
on" as I slowly but surely became stunted 
physically, emotionally, and, eventually, 
mentally.

"If you hadn't brought her in, she would 
have been dead in a week!" That's what 
they said about me. ESRD (End-Stage Renal 
Disease) had been stealthy, ready to snuff
the very last breath from my weary body, my 
confused mind, my short stature...

Perhaps I shall venture out, as I
beseeched dear Michael Gaudet to do, and
share my personal story in depth as well one
day.

Until then, thank you for joining us!

Pages

Monday, November 3, 2014

Moving Right Along