Even with PKD, Life Goes On: Nativity

Friday, December 27, 2013

Nativity

As we celebrate Christ's birth, let me look back at the year that was.

I began the year very sick. I was losing weight fast and I was noticeably thin. With my IJ catheter as my initial access, I had bouts of on-and-off fever after a little over a month. I thought I won't survive the year.

Fast forward to December, I feel like I am born again even without a kidney transplant yet. I had a few willing kidney donors but eventually they got rejected because of me being CMV IgG negative and them being CMV IgG positive. But hey, my hemoglobin's up so that I don't have erythropoietin injections anymore and my BP has become normal. No return bouts of the fever and chills. And I helped established a new kidney patient support group, the Smiling Kidneys Club.

Smiling Kidneys Club family based in Asia Renal Care 1 Cebu

The Smiling Kidneys Club was born. It is envisioned to help kidney patients, hemodialysis patients cope with their condition. Members consist not just of patients, but also of families, caregivers, medical professionals taking care of thapatient or supporting the patient.

Initially, we are are requesting in behalf of other hemodialysis patients, for the free Philhealth sessions to be increased from 45 to 100 (equivalent to about 2x a week session frequency). Hopefully we can soon make a petition letter online for this. During the club's first Christmas Party we voiced this to Congressman Raul del Mar who said that we should work hand in hand to help the patients. Hopefully Philhealth, Pnoy and the Executive department listens and hopefully allots a budget for this especially that the pork barrel is scrapped. The millions meant for the individual pork barrels of senators and congressmen may hopefully be available for this, even as the remaining pork barrel was already aligned to the calamity funds.By helping subsidize more dialysis treatments, kidney patients can continue to be active contributors to society as they are able to perform tasks they are used to do when they were still healthy.

Lord as this baby of ours (The Smiling Kidneys Club) is born, may your bright star guide us in our mission. May You continue to provide us nourishment, inspiration and strength despite illness to perform our duties. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for giving us our loved ones, our supporters, our nurses, our doctors, our friends. Happy Birthday Jesus.