I Feel Fine, But My Kidneys Are Killing Me
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Eileen Walton
If you’re feeling fine, that could be a sign of good health – unless you have something like chronic kidney disease, or CKD, and aren’t aware of it.
CKD can creep up on you as silently as an experienced thief. Over time, CKD can become a disturbing, significant health problem. That’s how it happened to me.
Symptoms of CKD include nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite and decreased mental sharpness. Symptoms such as these are nonspecific, meaning they could apply to other illnesses. Fortunately, lab tests can indicate the presence of kidney disease, even if you haven’t felt any symptoms.
What makes the kidneys so important? For one thing, they clean wastes and excess fluids from the body. Most of us know that. But did you know that they also help in regulating blood pressure, in producing red blood cells and in making bones strong?
As kidney disease progresses to an advanced stage, the patient may undergo dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant (from a living or deceased donor).
Some people ask me why I need a new kidney. Don’t I have a good one already? No, I don’t. Actually, the kidneys work together, so both of mine function poorly. Dialysis comes with restrictions, and the risk of infection.
There is a waiting list for a transplant from a deceased donor; the process can take years. Kidney patients who need a transplant are encouraged to find a living donor. Transplants from living donors generally have better outcomes: less risk of transplant failure, reduced recovery time for the recipient and longer lifespans enjoyed by living donor recipients.
How does a patient like me find a living person who is willing to donate one of their kidneys? When family or friends cannot donate, then the appeal goes public. The National Kidney Registry provides websites for patients like me. My website address is NKR.ORG/WNF552.
This website gives some facts about the transplant process and provides links for readers with questions. Through these links, the reader can be contacted by a knowledgeable person who can provide answers. The website also lets readers find out more about me and some of the many reasons I have to live.
Like others, I want to live a healthy and productive life as long as possible. Of course, I want to spend time loving and appreciating my family – my husband (we’re married for over 40 years), my daughter and my two young granddaughters. I also want to have many more opportunities to do for people what my Aunt Margie did for me. After every conversation with her, I felt more self-confident and worthwhile. She made me feel like a million bucks. I’d like to keep trying to do that – make people feel like a million bucks. I’d like to do that for a long time to come.
I hope you will consider helping me by sharing my website address through social media, e-mail or person-to-person contacts. The more people who know about me, the more likely that I will find a living donor.
Eileen Walton is a Pleasantville resident.
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