Our annual Kidney Walk has been turned into a virtual event that will be held on June 7.
Had it gone ahead on schedule in Kamloops on Sept. 23, Dorothy would have taken part for a seventh straight year since her transplant. Instead, she is working at fund-raising for the virtual event. This is her way of giving back because she has been there and knows how many kidney patients this money helps support.
If you like, you are able to support Dorothy’s effort right here.
Zach Tremblay’s transition to doing hemodialysis at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail, B.C., has been a success, his mother, Jana, reports.
The Tremblays live in Robson, B.C., which is located 33 km north of Trail.
Zach has four runs per week, each of them three to four hours in length.
“We drive him over, come home and go back later to get him . . . 16 trips back and forth a week,” Jana writes. “The Trail unit is full of lovely people and they have been exceptional in welcoming him/us and making it a less stressful transition.
“I am not allowed in with him because of the virus, so he has to go alone. He has his devices and snacks and off he goes.
“Not gonna lie . . . my eyes were full of tears and the lump in my throat was huge on Day 1, but has since shrunk to a pea size, with no tears now, every time we drop him off. He just makes us proud.”
Zach recently spent four months in Vancouver with Jana, as he went from peritoneal dialysis to hemo. And, of course, the search for a kidney for him continues.
On that front, Jana, reports . . .
“Now for the good news! Yes!! GOOD NEWS that we have been cradling and holding onto just a little while, because it just felt good for a change and we wanted to just enjoy it a while.
“A few weeks ago, Zach and I had a telehealth phone conference with his transplant doctor in Vancouver, Dr. Tom (Blydt-Hansen). Zach’s antibodies have come down. It doesn’t always happen, but it has and we will take it and feel blessed.
“This means the possibility of a match has become much bigger. Each time they come down, his donor pool widens — it’s really exciting biology stuff.”
What this means is that the odds of there being a match for him have improved considerably. Prior to the antibodies coming down, one person in 7,000 tested donors may have matched. Now it’s five in 1,000.
Jana adds: “They are now going to revisit anyone previously tested to see if they have become more compatible. They will also start testing new candidates, and continue with the paired exchange testings.
“If you’ve ever considered getting tested, please think about it now and help save our boy. His grad year is coming up and how wonderful would it be for this to be behind us and for him to just enjoy it.”
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
Leonard Pitts, a columnist with the Tampa Bay Times, sat down at his keyboard the other day and tapped out a column that really resonated with me.
Here are the first three paragraphs:
“Someday, I’m going to die.
“This, I grudgingly accept. I have no idea how it’s going to happen. Maybe I will die of having a tree fall on me, of eating tainted shellfish, or of being struck by lightning. But this much I guarantee. I will not die of having wagered my life that TV carnival barkers, political halfwits and MAGA-hat-wearing geniuses know more than experts with R.N.s, M.D.s, and Ph.D.s after their names.
“In other words, I will not die of stupid.”
The complete column is right here.
TAKING NOTE 