2008 KidneyTimes.com Annual Essay Contest!
Theme: "Funding a Dream: Giving Back"
Imagine that you go to your mailbox one morning
and inside you find a check for $100,000!
How would YOU spend it to benefit the kidney community?
(Read the Contest Rules)
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Nine Years on Dialysis and Still Working
I started dialysis nine and a half years ago and at that time, as I lay in my hospital bed undergoing three days a week dialysis on an emergency basis, I wondered if I would ever return to my job.
So You Think You Can Dance...My Life as a Dancer and Dialysis/Transplant Patient
At 4’11” and 98 pounds, I’m petite, and have been all my life. So, needless to say, when I tell people that I have four kidneys and two pancreases, they are shocked. But, really, I’m very fortunate. I’m alive today because of the support and love of my mother and father and the expertise of amazing medical professionals.
Why We Crave Comfort Foods?
Everyone should feel free to enjoy comfort foods. You don’t have to give them up completely, if you are on dialysis. Here’s the trick: if they are eaten only on an occasional basis, no harm is done. But if large portions of these foods are frequently eaten, they contribute to excessive fluid gains, high blood pressure, high phosphorus or high potassium levels.
The Warmth of an Idea for Your Vascular Access
I was diagnosed in 1971, so I have known for years that kidney failure was probably in my future. I began hemodialysis in May of 2006. I have an upper arm AV fistula, and while on dialysis found that my access arm got uncomfortably cold. Those of you on hemo know that we can’t cover the access arm because the needle site has to be visible to staff at the center at all times.
Beads of Life
It took a medical crisis to turn my life around and help me find the work I was supposed to be doing. I call myself a beadsmith, meaning beads are the focus of my work. As an artist, I've worked in many creative medias over the years-- photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, quilting and soft sculpture. Each was a new learning process and each one helped to hone my design skills and sense of color in order to ultimately design and create jewelry.
Essay Winners Spend Day Shadowing Transplant Surgeon and Learning About Dialysis
Five southern California high school students became “transplant surgeons” for the day on Thursday, April 24, at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange in conjunction with National Donate Life Month and National Take Your Child to Work Day.
Pet Therapy: Wagging Tails Come to You
Not only is a warm fuzzy face or a wagging tail a friendly distraction, but spending time with therapy animals can actually have physical benefits as well. Studies have shown that interacting with animals can lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and stress, and generally calm a person. As a dog, cat, or other animal offers loving and empathetic support, it also helps aid healing.
A Healing Presence: Howard Netter, MD
My father, Howard Netter, M.D., spent much of his life welcoming new people into this world. His work as an obstetrician-gynecologist perfectly melded his love for medicine with his absolute respect and joy for humanity. I recently returned to my hometown of Albany, New York to practice holistic medicine and energy healing. After speaking with streams of my father’s precious patients I realized that this wonderful clinician and surgeon was, in fact, always practicing holistic medicine as well! He truly cared for every patient’s mind, body, and spirit. He offered precisely what each patient needed to feel: supported, nurtured, and respected...When faced with deteriorating renal function and health challenges due to Polycystic Kidney Disease, he practiced what he believed: You must actively participate in your own health care process.
The Miracle Continues
Throughout history the word heroism refers to people that, in the face of danger and adversity; or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice, for some greater good. Patrice Smith, a total stranger, donated a kidney to our 21-year-old daughter, liberating her after 3 years on dialysis. With pure altruism, Patrice contacted our family, persevered through the evaluation process, traveled across the US and gave a beautiful gift of love and life – giving Jenna the chance to pursue her dreams, and live the life of a normal young woman.
I Want More Dialysis...Please!
Many of my current dialysis patients as well as others around the United States are asking for more dialysis. They want to feel better and “get their lives back.” Allowing them to perform their own dialysis in the home setting and receive more total hours of dialysis is empowering. Patients have shared with me and I have witnessed how much better their lives can be when they receive the optimal amount of dialysis. So are you receiving optimal dialysis, or just adequate dialysis? This is a hot topic right now in the corporate kidney world, and should be among dialysis patients as well.
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| Weekly Quote
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"I believe every human being is given the gift of Resiliency. Being Resilient allows one to grow mentally while facing physical changes. It gives us aspirations for the future along with Hope!"
-Joyce Beverly, Illinois
Excerpt from RSN's 2007 Essay Contest
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