Kidney Walk 2018

 If you've been following my blog for a while you'll know about my journey with kidney disease and my eventual transplant in March of this year. I was incredibly luck to have my cousin donate a kidney to me and was only on dialysis for 6 weeks! This is not the experience of many people with kidney disease. There are many patients who are on dialysis for years awaiting transplants. That means somewhere between 15 and 20 hours a week at the hospital attached to machines to keep toxins that will eventually kill out of the body. This is obviously not a sustainable way to live. I spoke with people on the unit who were younger than me who did this for 6 and 8 years before having their transplants. This means not really being able to have a career or do many of the things that your everyday person takes for granted. Many suffer depression as a result, but that's just one effect. It isn't a long term solution. You can't live forever without a working kidney.Even after transplant, you aren't out of the woods. You are in danger of rejecting the kidney, especially over the first year. After that there are a host of side effects from the anti-rejection drugs from bone loss to cancer. Again, this is no cure.TheKidney Foundation of Canada has made a bold statement for the first time this year - they've made it their mission to find a cure for kidney disease. It was not an attainable goal before now, and it's still going to take so much research and funds. That's why it's so important to me.Did you know that in Canada 1 in 10 people suffer from kidney disease? It's becoming more and more prevalent. Some of it is lifestyle related, but a huge number of people, like myself, have had injury to the kidney or were born with defects of some sort. I know of one person who had her first transplant at only 16 years old. And now after 10 years they are telling her that she will likely need her second in about 5 years. How many will she need before the end of her life? Let's face it, there are not enough kidneys around to serve all of the people waiting. We need solutions now.Will you help me to reach my goal? I'm almost 70% there. The walk takes place on September 9, so I have almost a month left. Remember that donations are tax deductible in Canada. All amounts will help. If you are able to donate, click here for the link: https://kidney.akaraisin.com/ATLWalks18/reenadavis.  If you want to know more about the Kidney Foundation visit them here: https://www.kidney.caThank you so much for your donation if you are able, and for your positive thoughts and encouragement if you can't <3 .