The
KIDNEY CARE
Connection
Spring 2012 MEET OUR 2012 SPOKESWOMAN!
Imagine a 17 year-old girl being told she needs a kidney transplant. Struggling at first, she adjusts to the dramatic changes during her teens. 10 years after the first transplant she’s told she needs a second. This is Kari’s story:
My name is Kari O’Reilly. I want to tell you about how kidney disease has affected my life and how the Kidney Foundation of Canada’s Manitoba Branch has helped me over and over again. At 17 I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. My world changed overnight. I was a serious athlete, vigorously competing in many sports. I suddenly had to adopt a “be careful, don’t get hurt” stance. I thought THAT was hard but then came weight and appetite loss, constant nausea, and FEAR. I did not know what was going to come next. To be honest, some days I wanted to die. Fortunately my mother was found to be a match and I received one of her kidneys. After my recovery I began my life where I had left off. I was getting stronger all the time. Then came devastating news – my kidney was failing AGAIN! I felt hurt, sad, angry and betrayed, many times all at once. Faced with dialysis and the search for another donor, I became withdrawn and depressed. Then came dialysis, which I got to with Handi-Transit. That turned a 3 ½ hour session into an 8+ hour day. For four years, I went to dialysis and waited for a second miracle. That miracle came in the form of my sister Shauna. I received her kidney in 1998 and have lived life to the fullest ever since.
others walk down the path I had already walked. The bursary was the only way I could afford to go back to school. The courses I took enabled me to become an Associate Wealth Advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns, a job I still enjoy today. Believe it or not there’s more! Knowing I was an athlete, the KFOC invited me to represent Manitoba at the World Transplant Games in Vancouver in 1993. I made friends from all over the world. We compared lives, Kari and her husband Dave in Sydney diets and transplant stories. We “My world changed overnight.” even chuckled at how many of us had “chubby transplant cheeks”. The How has the Kidney Foundation benefited me? There’s been so many memory of walking in the stadium with athletes from all over the world is ways – take your pick! When I was one I will never forget. diagnosed with PKD, the KFOC was a vital source of information on an unfaHow am I feeling now? INCREDIBLE. miliar disease. Everyone at the KFOC My husband can barely keep up with understood the shock and the changes me. I never forget the old adage “You I was about to face. They immediately never know what tomorrow may helped my mother develop the best bring.” I can travel again and have possible diet that helped maintain my been to many parts of the world. I remaining kidney function. As that take nothing for granted and am so function began to decline they educatgrateful for the support of my family, ed us about dialysis and transplant. friends and the Kidney Foundation. I know they will be there, they always Over time PKD began to consume me, leading to social withdrawal and have been. depression. Along came the KFOC With more than 1,000 Manitobans on with a bursary, support groups and dialysis (the highest rate in Canada) volunteer opportunities. While on and more than 160 awaiting transdialysis, I met many understanding plant, the need for the services propeople. They motivated me to get vided by the Kidney Foundation of out of the house at a crucial point in Canada’s Manitoba Branch has never my life. The KFOC later asked me to been greater. Your generous gift enbe a peer mentor to those recently sures that these valuable services can diagnosed and who were preparing be provided to people like me and my for dialysis and transplant. I grew as family. a person by helping many
Are You Kidney Klever? We invite you to take this quick, 10 question true/false quiz. By the time you are done, you will know some important information about your kidneys and how they operate. Share this quiz with your friends and loved ones so they have a better understanding of their kidneys and kidney disease in general. Answers are on the back page. No peeking!
4. Kidney disease is not common or 8. Stage 5 of kidney disease is known as End-Stage Renal harmful. Disease (ESRD or end-stage renal failure. It refers to the end True False of your kidney function (your kidneys are working at less than 15% of normal), not the end of your life. True False 9. Kidney failure is curable. 5. There are no ‘at risk’ categories for kidney disease.
True False
True False 1. The kidneys are vital organs. Many of the body’s organs need the kidneys to function properly and you could die without healthy kidneys. True False 2. Kidney disease is a one-time acute illness that is strictly inherited.
6. Usually, kidney disease starts slowly and silently, and progresses over a number of years.
True False
True False
3. Knowing your ‘numbers’ such as blood pressure and blood sugar, and asking your health professional about the level of protein in your urine when you go for your health check-ups, is a proactive way of monitoring your kidney health. True False
10. The gap between the need for kidneys and the number of available organs for transplantation is growing.
True False 7. There are 5 stages in kidney disease and everyone gets to Stage 5 sooner or later. The Kidney Foundation of Canada Manitoba Branch True False Unit 1-452 Dovercourt Drive Winnipeg, MB R3Y 1G4 (204) 989-0800 1-800-729-7176 info@kidney.mb.ca Twitter: KidneyFdnMb Facebook: KidneyFoundation Manitoba
www.kidneycommunitykitchen.ca Recipe of the Month: Thai Fish Soup Ingredients
Directions
5 cups water (boiling) 2 frozen white fish fillets 1 cup chopped green onion 1 tbsp minced ginger 2 cloves chopped garlic 1 cup diced carrot 1 cup diced celery basil cilantro mint black pepper lime 1 cup bean sprouts 1 cup cooked long grain rice Dried chilies (if you like it spicy)
1.Sauté ginger, garlic, celery, and green onions in 1 tbsp oil.
Servings per recipe: 12 Serving size: 1 12th of the recipe (about 1 cup)
2.Add boiling water, fish, carrots, and celery.
Nutrient Analysis
3.Simmer until fish is cooked. Season with black pepper and fresh herbs. 4.Add cooked rice and serve hot. 5.Garnish with bean sprouts, more fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lime juice. Be sure to visit www.kidneycommunitykitchen.ca for the latest information on diet, exercise and living a renal-friendly lifestyle!
Renal Diet Nutrient Analysis
Calories: 66 Protein: 3g Carbohydrates: 10g Fibre: 1.5g Total Fat: 1.7g Sodium: 76mg Phosphorus: 48.5mg Potassium: 182mg Renal and Diabetic Exchanges 1 vegetable
2012 RRGS
Sunday, September 9th is the 10th annual Renal Ride*Glide*Stride at St. Vital Park. To volunteer or to get info call Donna at 989-0807
March is Kidney Health Month
Join us in marking March as Kidney Health Month in Manitoba. Visit your favourite Wendy’s Restaurant when you are feeling hungry and eat plenty of their world-famous chili. When you do, a portion of each sale goes to support Kidney Foundation activities here in Manitoba. Puchase and sign one of the tags pictured here and show your support of the Kidney Foundation! Wendy’s Restaurants have been a long-term friend of the Kidney Foundation in Manitoba. Thank you to Tim, Jeff and all the staff for your enthusiastic support over the years! Watch for our canvassers who are visiting many areas in March! If a canvasser does not visit, you can mail, phone in or make a gift online!
Quiz Answers 1. True. Kidneys remove waste and toxins from the body so mineral levels (such as calcium and phosphorous for production of healthy bones) remain appropriate They produce hormones that regulate essential body functions like blood pressure, and remove/ retain excess water.
3. True. 4. False. Kidney disease is both common and harmful: An estimated 2.6 million Canadians have kidney disease or are at risk. 5. False. You are at risk for kidney disease if you have diabetes, high blood pressure or blood vessel diseases or a close relative with hereditary kidney disease. Members of certain ethnic groups are also at high risk because of the greater incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure.
2. False. Kidney disease describes many conditions affecting the kidneys. Most attack the filtering units (nephrons), damaging the ability to eliminate waste and 6. True. excess fluid. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the 2 most 7. False. Not everyone progresses common, (often preventable) from Stage 1 to Stage 5. For some causes of end-stage kidney conditions diet and exercise can help. disease. THE KIDNEY FOUNDATION OF CANADA MANITOBA BRANCH
8. True. However, to sustain life at this stage, dialysis or kidney transplantation is needed. 9. False. Treatments exist for kidney failure, but they are not cures. A person on dialysis must get treatment three to four times per week, which takes up to five hours each time. And kidney transplants don’t typically last a lifetime. Plus, kidney disease comes in many forms and much research is needed for a diverse range of cures. 10. True. 70% per cent of people on Canada’s organ donor transplant waiting list need a kidney. Some die waiting. Questions? Contact us for answers!
Invites all members to the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Wednesday, April 25th 2012
7:30 PM
1-452 Dovercourt Drive Winnipeg, MB Call 989-0800 or 1-800-729-7176
KIDNEY CARS Donate your used vehicle Free towing & tax receipt 257-CARS (2277) 1-866-740-2277
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