FUNDRAISING
Celebrate the Milestones Join us this fall at the Kidney Walk
by Mary Diemer
A
t the age of 53 I have come to the conclusion that a large part of life is celebrating milestones: birthdays, first steps, firsts of just about anything, anniversaries—and yes, even death. And when you have lived most of your life with a chronic disease, you tend to place more emphasis on “firsts” and other milestones. On September 5, 2001, my sister Marg gave me her left kidney. And we celebrated. Our first transplantiversary is a blur, and then before I knew it, five years had gone by; then double digits. How could 10 years go by that fast? Two years ago, if my kidney was a kid, she would have been old enough to get her driver’s licence. This year, she’s old enough to vote and next year she turns 19 (I shudder to think how we will celebrate that!) but when she turns 21—it’s going to be something big! Please don’t get me wrong, I celebrate my transplant every single day. One of the ways I celebrate every year is by participating in the annual Kidney Walk. I started as a walker back in 2002 and became more involved in planning the event in my community more than 10 years ago. My team—Mary’s Spare Parts—will be walking again this September in our community, making more walk memories. My team has always shown that they are behind me all the way. They’ve definitely got my back! kidney.ca
Spring 2020 / Kidney Living / 19
