COOKING FOR KIDNEYS Chef John Vito

JOHN VITO

I awoke in the ICU at Highland Hospital. A woman in a chair next to me was intently staring at a dresser sized machine. She did not make eye contact and provided vague one word answers to my questions. Soon a doctor walked in. At this point the medical staff knew my future, I only knew my past. The two were not going to work together at all, but that was something I was unaware of for several months.

The last thing I remembered was walking through the doors of the treatment area of the ER. That was six hours earlier. The doctor briefed me on what happened, why I was there, and the plan to get me out.

I had kidney failure and. I was in “End Stage” of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The permanent damage no longer allowed them to function well enough to maintain life. My options were limited; dialysis, represented by the machine next to me, or a transplant. Both are considered a permanent and necessary treatment as there is no curing the damaged kidney.

For the past 20 years I arrived on State Street in the early morning to open my restaurant, serving breakfast and lunch, and had recently opened a second restaurant serving lunch and dinner The work day often extended to eighteen hours.

The incompatibility of my old and new lives took away another aspect of my identity. I had some choices to make. I had seen several people go though illness and chronic disease due to the nature and longevity of my business. I

noticed two different paths that others took; go on with their life as best they can, and privately fight their illness, or use a outward-facing approach with openness and advocacy.

The long hours at the dialysis center added to my personal experience with this disease as I saw how it impacted many others. I did not see how anyone could muster the energy to do much of anything else besides be a patient and maintain the necessities of life. And that may be why we see so few patient advocates with chronic diseases or other severe illnesses.

When I started cooking again it was not to be a part of an advocacy path. It was purely for my own survival. Diet is one of the few elements patients have any control over, and it is complex, changing, and unfortunately unique for each patient.

The kidneys filter out the excess nutrients and create balance in our body. When they don’t work, we monitor our diet to help maintain that balance. There was plenty of general information available, but the particulars were missing.

The effort I was putting into my own survival, my experiences and interest in food science, turned out to be a useful set of tools to fill a gap in the patient care aspect of CKD.

My cooking was not only feeding my body but it was providing me with a therapeutic for my mental health. Other patients at the center starting asking me questions about food as well.

“The incompatibility of my old and new lives took away another aspect of my identity. I had some choices to make.”

more apparent that there was a need for this type information, especially from someone who has “sat in the chair,” and understood the effects of the disease.

This led to the development of my video cooking series with the aid of two local foundations. I helped individual patients and caregivers better understand the disease and how they could participate in their own care. Renal dietitians starting asking me to speak at different events locally and in other states.

And then it happened. A call from UPMC in Pittsburgh telling me that they had a matching kidney. It had been a long five years. After Surgery and a 4 month recovery, I was off on a new form of treatment. The kidney was not perfect and I still have reduced function but it is a significant improvement in my quality of life.

With the extra energy and clarity of mind I wrote my book “Cooking for your Kidneys” and accelerated my efforts to help people with CKD. I was honored locally by the kidney organizations for my work as a patient innovator in 2017. Challenge award from Kidney X: Innovation Accelerator, a collaboration of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the U.S. government and the American Society of Nephrologists (ASN).

Speaking engagements, live cooking events, recipe writing for large companies in the CKD community are all part of my new life. I am fully engrossed in helping out others that have been forced on this long and difficult road. I guess I know what path I ended up following.

Website : cookingforyourkidneys.com Book: amazon.com and other outlets.