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Cindy's Story

It’s almost hard to believe I can finally say these words. But I now have a brand-new kidney!
Diabetes runs in my family, but I didn’t realize that I was diabetic until 2014. Two years later, I was also diagnosed with kidney disease.

Before then, I didn’t realize that diabetes and kidney disease often go hand in hand, and that diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in Canada. 

After my diagnosis, things went from bad to worse pretty quickly. In just a few months, I was so swollen that I could barely move. I needed help getting out of bed and going to doctors’ appointments. And every time I stood up, my blood pressure would drop so quickly, I’d fall right down again. 

After I got out of the hospital, I started dialysis three times a week, for four hours each time. It made a difference, but what I really needed was a new kidney.

Eventually, I was placed on the transplant list. And I waited, every day for three and a half years, for the news that would change my life. I finally got it earlier this year – a brand-new kidney!

Through it all – the hope and the fear and the excitement and the worry – I leaned heavily on the Peer Support program offered by The Kidney Foundation. I thank Kidney Foundation supporters for giving me hope for humanity, and for filling me with gratitude for my new kidney and my new life.

Too many Canadians have their lives cut short by diabetic kidney disease. Donate now. Let’s end diabetic kidney disease.