Kidney Stories
Tell us your story. If you would like to share your story about living with kidney disease, being an organ donor or transplant recipient, or being a caretaker, we’d be happy to feature it here on our Web site.
Other people living with kidney disease can benefit greatly from hearing about your experiences. Simply send us an email with your story, and a photo if you have one. We’ll edit your story, if necessary, and we can withhold your name if you prefer. Email us at: webmaster@kidney.ca.
In the year 1998, at the age of 30, I decided to join the Navy. It was then and there that the medical staff discovered something terrible. During a routine urine test for protein, the results came back with a 700 mg/d reading (normal values for urinary protein are less than 300 mg/d). The acting physician, thinking this was a mistake, requested that I wait and provide another urine sample. An hour later, the results were worse- 800- and it was at that moment the powers that be decided to ban me for life from the military.... 
Dr. Ken Hughes
Dr. Hughes’ involvement with The Kidney Foundation began in the 1960s when he first experienced kidney failure and started dialysis. From 1985 to 1986, he was National President of The Kidney Foundation and in 1990 he wedded Nancy Hughes, with whom he canvassed every March for The Kidney Foundation’s annual fundraising drive while they lived in Winnipeg...
Jean-Louis Clémendot
Mr. Clémendot has a mission: to demonstrate to other kidney patients that peritoneal dialysis (PD) has not taken away the freedom to sail. He hopes to be an inspiration to the 1,700,000 dialysis patients around the world and show that you can continue to live life to the fullest despite kidney disease...
Kathleen Murphy
For most people, turning age 50 is a milestone. In the year or two leading up to this, I had thought about what I could do to celebrate this birthday that was different from what others had done. My hairdresser had recently been tested to see if she could donate a kidney to her husband who was on dialysis. I asked her what was involved and if anyone could donate a kidney. She could not see why not....
Pauline Hood
I was put on dialysis in May of 2009. That was a shocking experience: I never thought I would end up on dialysis. I thought if I just follow my renal diet, everything would be OK and I could keep functioning normally - but no, I evidently was wrong. In May I had to start dialysis twice weekly and that changed our lifestyle considerably…
Karen Rongve
In 2004, Mr. Rongve's kidney function, which had stayed within the
40-50% range for years, dropped to the 20% mark. Hypertension was the
main cause. "In the summer, I got so weak on the golf course I had to
lie down. I knew that I was quite ill.'' That's when his doctor recommended he visit the Renal Insufficiency
Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital where he has learned, and put into the
practice, the health self-management principles that are helping him
and his wife and caregiver, Sylvia, maintain their active lifestyle...
Gabor Brach
In memory
Gabe survived 20 major operations in his lifetime, he was one of the longest living dialysis patients, he rode the cusp of medical advancements for kidney and heart disease, he never allowed bitterness into his heart, and he never lost hope — even in his final days after suffering two major heart attacks he was a fighter…
Glenn
For many years Glenn suffered from polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary condition that progressively worsens. Last winter the former Montreal Alouettes centre learned his kidneys were functioning at less than 13 per cent and that he would require dialysis. Placed on a transplant waiting list, Glenn was blessed with a wonderful gift when his sister, Sheryl, was found to be a compatible kidney donor. Thanks to a successful operation, the 45-year-old is healthy again and has a second chance at life.
Ken
Ken developed kidney disease 25 years ago. As the recipient of two kidney transplants, the former Royal Canadian Air Force officer knows firsthand the importance of organ donation. In 1981, Ken began volunteering at the The Kidney Foundation’s British Columbia Branch. Today, he is a member of the National Organ Donation Committee, as well as Chair of the Branch’s Organ Donation Committee. An active member of the Canadian Transplant Association, Ken has participated in the Transplant Games at the regional, national and world levels.