The focus of this day around the world is to bring awareness to kidney disease.
And my friends, I just wrote a long blog about this special day and…accidently deleted it.
Yep! That’s what I did.
So I just did a centering EFT Tapping exercise. And now I’m going to start writing again.
And here we go! I’m presenting this vital information in bullet format so each bit of information can be taken in separately.
Did You Know?
- I had a kidney transplant in 1995 at 34 years of age?
- It came from my sister and lasted for 22 years?
- I was on dialysis afterwards for 2 years?
- I met my husband Henry when I sent a text and got a wrong number?
- Henry ended up being a match for me and gave me one of his kidneys for my second transplant on April 19, 2019?
Did you know your kidneys:
- Make urine
- Remove wastes and extra fluid from your blood
- When I was on dialysis, sometimes I’d gain 6 lbs in 2 days, before my next treatment just from the food and liquids I’d drink.
- Control your body’s chemical balance
- Before my first transplant, when I wasn’t on dialysis, I’d have extreme reactions to food, like once I had a strawberry/banana smoothie and my whole face went numb! The minerals in all foods is toxic without the kidneys filtering!!
- Help control your blood pressure
- Help keep your bones healthy
- Help you make red blood cells
- Are located deep in your abdomen, towards your back, beneath the rib cage.
- Transplanted kidneys go into the abdomen due to their placement. Original kidneys are typically left alone since they’ll just atrophy. The new one is attached to a blood supply and the bladder.
- I technically have 4 kidneys!!
Vital kidney information
- Kidney disease is on the rise all over the world, mostly due to heart disease and diabetes
- 2,000,000 people worldwide and 750,000 in the United States
- People need dialysis or a transplant to live if their kidneys stop working. The toxins that the kidneys filter are poison to our systems causing death without dialysis.
- People are born with 2 kidneys and really only need one. Donating a kidney is a safe and easy operation to save a life.
- More than 100,000 people in the US are on the transplant list but only 21,000 were donated last year.
- People who go on dialysis are eligible for Medicare for as long as they’re on dialysis
- People who have kidney transplants also get Medicare for three years following the transplant
- In the US, people who pay into Social Security through their taxes are paying for Medicare
- There is SO MUCH NEED to spread awareness of kidney disease to prevent or heal it and especially for organ donation, cadaver or living to lessen the burden on our Medicare system!
How can you help? Please donate to your local Kidney Foundation or any related kidney awareness or support organization. Volunteer to get involved! Donate a kidney!
The local chapters of the National Kidney Foundation have terrific awareness campaigns especially in underserved areas where kidney failure is on the rise. I volunteer on the gala committee for the local chapter of the Kidney Foundation and I’d love to invite YOU to be on the committee with me!
Gala Committee Responsibilities:
- Secure sponsorships/product donations.
- Recruit event participants and encourage table purchases.
- Secure items for silent and live auction.
- Support day-of logistics and volunteer recruitment efforts, as needed.
- Assist with design elements for event: food, decor, invitations etc., as needed.
- Assist with committee development by recruiting new members.
- Recruit vendors, business relationships, and partners to support the Gala through partnership
- Meetings are virtual, 1-2 times a month and last 1 hour in length.
Thank you for reading this. It’s vital information and I’m so passionate about it!.
Please let me know if you’d like to get involved with me in the St. Louis chapter of the Kidney Foundation. We’re really hoping our gala this year will be in person at the St. Louis Aquarium. The money we raise will be vital support for people in Missouri with kidney disease.