Articles and Information: Hope > Creative Studio
1st Place - A Memory of Butterfly Wings - 2004 Essay Contest
After 12 years of living dialysis free, I faced transplant failure. It was difficult to accept for I knew very well the life that was awaiting me. I would once again have to go through the process of hemodialysis week-after-week, month-after-month, and year-after-year. I struggled through the feelings of anger, hopelessness, and finally acceptance. I thank family and friends for being there, for holding my hand and wiping away the tears...
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1st Place - Get a Mentor - 2008 Essay Contest
First, I would educate them. Once a person has been diagnosed with renal disease and will need to begin dialysis, I would have a fellow dialysis patient who has had the procedure--catheter, life-site or graph--assigned to the new patient. Let them share their personal story about the surgical process, the healing period, and what the incision will look like once it has healed. Although my brain knows this procedure will not only save my life but give me a better quality of life, as a woman, my heart tells me that I will have a scar that will be unattractive and might limit my wearing of certain clothing. To some this might seem superficial but to a female, especially a young female, this is a very real concern. It's important to have affirmation from someone who has already been where I still have to go.
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1st Place - Hope Moments - 2007 Essay Contest
Tomorrow represents opportunity. It's another chance to have a "do over." With tomorrow, I can make amends. With tomorrow, I can try it again. With tomorrow, maybe that laugh that I didn't get to have today will come. With tomorrow, the possibilities are endless, and just thinking about those possibilities in that "hope moment" gives me what I need to press on. Go ahead... inhale!... exhale!... Are you getting it yet?
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1st Place - I See. I Hear - 2002 Essay Contest
I take precious fluid from fragile humans.
I clean it, Detox it, Bless it, and send it back. I improve their lives. For a time, I can help them. I share my patients' life-blood. I share their souls. I know when they hurt, When they smile When they want to die; and When they want to live.
I want them to live. So do others.
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1st Place - Strawberry - 2009 Essay Contest
Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun, tells the story of a woman being chased through the jungle by tigers. She comes to the edge of a cliff and, with the tigers behind her, has no choice but to climb down a vine. Once she does, she sees tigers below her, too. What's more, a mouse is now gnawing at the vine to which she clings. What to do? She sees a ripe strawberry growing within reach, tosses it into her mouth and "thoroughly" enjoys the treat.
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1st Place - That Special Someone: My Daughter - 2005 Essay Contest
Never has there been a dull moment in my life since she arrived. Never have I known such a beautiful spirit. Never have I been so impressed with the courage of one person. Never did I expect to be so blessed in life. Never did I expect her to bring such fulfillment and enrichment to my life.
Never have I been so inspired to be the best person that I could be. Never did I ever expect to hold the proud title of mother.
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1st Place - The Real Miracle of Family - 2003 Essay Contest
When I was told I had kidney failure, I was living on my own for the first time and immediately came home to tell my Mom. I was devastated. If it hadn't been for my mom, Genevieve, and my brother, David, I have no idea how I could have accomplished the monumental task that lay ahead, both surviving with kidney disease and going through all the treatments necessary to stay alive. In fact, I very well might not be here to write this at all if it hadn't been for both of them.
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2nd Place - A Friend Named Maggie - 2005 Essay Contest
There she was again--just like every morning after my treatment. Each time I went through this, her eyes told me that she understood what I was feeling, and I could tell that she was sad. But, most of all, she stayed with me as I removed my needles, serviced my equipment, and oh so slowly walked downstairs. By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs, we were talking, and she knew that I felt OK again.
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2nd Place - Celebrate the Day - 2007 Essay Contest
Lastly, I celebrate the day. I cherish each day that I am feeling reasonably well, each occasion spent with my family and friends. I have parties every holiday, even the little ones like Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick's Day. On the day after Thanksgiving, I cook again and call it Thanksgiving 2. I tell my family and friends that I love them each time I see them. I kiss my son awake each morning and put him to bed each night with a kiss.
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2nd Place - For the Love of the Game - 2009 Essay Contest
"Hey, batter, batter, SWING!" These are some beautiful words to my ears. I've been a hemodialysis patient for fourteen years, but, more importantly, I've also been a volunteer coach in a youth baseball program for the past 24 years. My kidney failure and my years and years of dialysis have robbed me of some of the things that many 53-year old men take for granted - like being able to work or being able to play eighteen holes of golf on a hot summer day.
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2nd Place - Lobbying for Kidney Care - 2008 Essay Contest
I'm going with the theory that you start at home, make changes in your own neighborhood, city, or county, then, like a pebble dropped in a still pond, you wait for the ripples to spread the message. That's how I am going to use these funds to try to move my state towards an opt-out program of organ donation. What's that, you ask? Well, instead of asking residents to sign a donor card on their driver's license saying they opt-in, they would be asked to sign a card saying that they DON'T want to be a donor and sign that. This then begins the process of re-educating the populace to believe they are considered an organ donor unless they say otherwise.
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2nd Place - Take Hold and Ride, Cowboy! - 2004 Essay Contest
I am 36 years old with type 1 diabetes. I have been diabetic for 31 years and started dialysis the week before Christmas in 2003. Yet, in all my life experiences--the good, the bad, and the terrible--I always remember the lesson that taught me it could always be worse and that, usually, it just seems that everyone has it better than myself. The past few months (as of this writing), I have learned not to focus on myself but to focus on family, friends, and to love, learn, and be responsible with my health not only for me but for others as well. As I sit in our dialysis center and watch the nurses go back and forth from patients, I feel the need to thank them all for their caring and professionalism that they share with each one of us. As I sit there, I am able to remember my funniest and hardest time as a teen:
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2nd Place - The Gifted People of Shoreline Dialysis - 2002 Essay Contest
"Paul, honey, wake up! Your treatment's over. Any plans for the weekend? Sightseeing? Country fairs? Auctions? Vermont?" my nurse asks as she checks my arm and records my weight. "Yeah. We're off for an overnight in Vermont." I leave the clinic in a chorus of "goodbyes" as one of the nurses yells: "Come back when you can stay longer!" We all laugh. As I sit in the reception area waiting for Transit to take me home, I gaze once again at the unit's pet bulletin board, our social worker's project displaying humorous photos of cats, dogs, and horses belonging to patients and staff. As I sit there smiling, I hear laughter coming from the clinic. A nurse comes through the door wheeling a 90-year-old patient, helping him into his coat (it is 95 degrees outdoors) and laughing hysterically.
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2nd Place - The Ultimate Adventure is the Infinite Day - 2003 Essay Contest
As I sit here and stare at the blank computer screen, I try to find the words that define my life now. I remember when I first became sick, and the doctor told me that I had kidney failure; I went home stunned, scared, and resigned. My friend is a registered nurse, and I looked up end-stage renal disease in one of her medical books. I wanted to know exactly what I was facing. No secrets for me. I wanted to know exactly what the facts were. I am a person of facts, a person who believes information shall always set you free. The big official book of medical facts informed me that patients with kidney failure are defined as "marginal." They are people with a terminal disease, who can be maintained for an indefinable amount of time with dialysis or transplant. But there is no cure, only treatment. Hence the term marginal," neither here nor there, but defined as somewhere in between.
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3rd Place - Dancing in the Rain - 2009 Essay Contest
I was born in 1934 in the middle of the first big depression. We had very little in the way of toys or things to play with. But we always had enough to eat, clothes to wear and love in our house. I was the only child in the neighborhood in my age bracket, so I mostly entertained myself. I learned to watch the birds build their nests, delighted in a rainbow after I had played in the rain, watched the sunsets and only went inside when I was called by my full name. I found joy in the smallest things like climbing a big tree and crawling under the house to hide and drink an Orange Crush that I had charged to my Dad at the grocery store.
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3rd Place - Sings in My Heart - 2005 Essay Contest
The professor's voice was clear and crisp as he read our names. Frantically, I searched the crowd again. She was out there somewhere, silently cheering me on as she had done for eight years. I knew that my name would be next. I thought of our journey that had brought me to this moment. Hello, I am Christine Sanders. This is my story. At age 16, I was angry and shy. I hated everyone because I felt different. I hated myself. My mother worked three jobs. My five older siblings were never home. So, I pretty much stayed at home--cooking, cleaning, and reading books. My only friend was the library. There I would read and reread books about college kids, successful kids, accepted kids... everything I thought I couldn't be.
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3rd Place - The Broken Wing - 2003 Essay Contest
I was flying high! In spite of a humble beginning, an abusive marriage that ended in divorce and three children to rear, doors had opened for me, and opportunity seemed to have chosen me for its one true mission. My career in computer technology was in full swing. I had mastered the logic and risen in stature. The children had grown and started new lives. This was my time to amass retirement funds and plan for a future full of European tours and artistic fulfillment. Maybe I could even rekindle my social life after years of heavy responsibilities. My thoughts that morning in August, 1989, were on an upcoming computer conference in Boston. I had showered and used the toilet once more before I dressed. When I turned to flush it, my hair stood on end. The water was filled with blood!
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3rd Place - The Dream That Gets Me Through - 2004 Essay Contest
I died last night. The last thing I remember was looking at the clock. It was 11:32. When I opened my eyes, I was standing before a set of massive white gates. I reached out to touch them, and I heard a voice call my name. "Paul, what are you doing here?" I turned around to see a man in long white robes standing beside a huge book that was lying open on a carved white pedestal. "I think I've died," I answered. "Is this Heaven?" "Yes. Heaven is on the other side of these gates. However, the question remains: Why are you here? It is not time for you to die."
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3rd Place - The Portable Kidney - 2008 Essay Contest
The portable artificial kidney, "Arty," would be similar to a pace maker. "Arty" would be to the kidney what the pace maker is to the heart. The artificial kidney would be a small machine about the size of a woman's fist. A patient would only need one artificial kidney that would be placed inside the patient's body through a small 2 inch incision in the area where one of the kidneys is located. The artificial kidney would consist of a soft pliable type material that has a lot of micro fibers similar to a natural kidney's nephrons. It would also take over the functions of a diseased kidney by filtering nitrogenous wastes and toxins from the blood and produce urine. The urine would then be stored in the urinary bladder until it is full. The urine would then exit the body through the urethra.
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3rd Place Tie - A Brighter Day - 2002 Essay Contest
When I was younger, all I wanted was to live a normal life. To live a life without medicine, monthly hospital visits, and surgeries to save my life. I hated the fact that I was an outcast to the "normal" people. Some people would say that I was too different, and that I could never be like them. Others tried to give me a different point of view, a view that was as golden as a sunrise. These people are special people. They showed me that I should laugh. The negative people laugh because I am different, but I laugh because they're all the same.
When I was younger, I had a kidney transplant. My life changed drastically. From then on I would have to take medicine the rest of my life. I would have scars that I could do nothing about. This was not my choice; I did not want to live like this. I wanted to go out and play, to be free from worries of losing a vital organ easier than anybody else.
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3rd Place Tie - A Man Named Mr. Black - 2007 Essay Contest
My aspiration and inspiration was a man named Mr. Black--a little black man who took a liking to me. Why me? I'll never know, but I am grateful for his wisdom. It was my last day on treatment in the hospital. Then I would start my treatments in a clinic. I was lying sick in my bed when this gentleman told me to sit up. I managed to sit up and listen to his every word.
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3rd Place Tie - He Knows How It Feels - 2002 Essay Contest
The staff at my dialysis unit encourages me to live a fulfilling life in spite of kidney disease in many ways. Some ways are overt, and others are not so obvious to someone who does not need a lift in spirit from time to time. Although the staff performs their duties in a professional manner, each of them finds the time to answer any questions I have. If they don't know, they are willing to get the answer. They make me feel special by knowing my personality to the point, that if I'm not my usual self, they ask me if something is wrong. I know that all units are not fortunate enough to have staff members who have kidney disease or who have had a kidney transplant. However, I am a patient with a staff member who has experienced (medically) the same things I've experienced.
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3rd Place Tie - Hope is Love - 2007 Essay Contest
I encourage everyone diagnosed with any illness to actively get involved with his or her healthcare. The more you know, the better quality of life you can have. How well do you want to live? Ask questions. Search the web. Talk to other patients, and keep an open mind. Your life is what you make it.
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A Family Affair
The transplant doctor called a meeting for my whole family and told us that since I was AB positive, I was easy to match and they were all possible donors. So who would donate? The doctor helped us make a decision. My daughter was not the top choice because she might still have more children, so he suggested my oldest son, Robert, be tested and my other son, Michael, be the second choice.
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Beads of Life
It took a medical crisis to turn my life around and help me find the work I was supposed to be doing. I call myself a beadsmith, meaning beads are the focus of my work. As an artist, I've worked in many creative medias over the years-- photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, quilting and soft sculpture. Each was a new learning process and each one helped to hone my design skills and sense of color in order to ultimately design and create jewelry.
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Behind WHO LIVES?
Before this play, I had no connection to kidney disease, but it's easy to empathize. Whether one has functioning kidneys or not, almost everyone grows up feeling different in some way-having "different" skin color, having a home or family life unlike other people, or perhaps not being smart enough, or talented in sports enough, or not good-looking enough. Remember the sinking feeling when two team captains would choose teams for dodge ball? I was never the first choice. We fill the vessels of our identity as being less than others. That's an element in the play.
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Blood Soldiers (A Poem)
"still
straight ahead
the shadows fall on darkened soldiers
as I turn out the light
I glance back to tell them goodnight"
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Eyewitness Account of Kidney Donation (Podcast)
Donating a kidney to a friend or family member is becoming more common. Listen to Phillip Palmer, weekday morning anchor for KABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles and hear him describe his journey of what it was like to give the "gift of life" to his good friend Dale Wade Davis. Phillip describes how he made the decision to become a living donor and what inspired him to make this decision. Don't miss this extraordinary act of kindness!
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Finding Romance while on Dialysis (Podcast)
When you have an illness it can be tough to find a loving partner to share your life with who understands the unique challenges kidney disease presents. Marissa and Tom Carr reveal their journey from friendship to courtship to marriage. As Elizabeth Browning said, "Love doesn't make the world go around, love is what makes the ride worthwhile."
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High Antibody Count - What To Do? (Podcast)
Howard Feinberg had a transplant that unfortunately ended up failing. Now back on dialysis, and back on the list he learned his chances were very slim to receive a second kidney. Howard took control of his care and found out all his options. He learned of a new therapy that helps reduce your antibody count. Listen to Howard’s journey of how he was able to receive his second transplant.
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Hope with a Harmony
When people have certain aspirations in life or hope to get through a condition like kidney failure, they may think of an important person in their lives or even a belief. For me, that aspiration is none of those. It's the thing that is always there for me no matter what. The thing that can get me out of bed every morning: Music.
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Junior Achievement Award - Find Time to Play - 2009 Essay Contest
When I was 5 years old the doctors discovered that both of my kidneys were not working and I had to have surgery to remove them both. I was given one of my mother's kidneys during the same surgery. I am now 11 years old and I want to tell you my story.
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Kid'ney Kids Calendar - 2008
On Friday, September 14, 2007, eleven separate planes arrived in Washington, DC, carrying a few very special visitors. The 11 visitors, accompanied by family members, range in ages seven through 18 and have won the American Kidney Fund's (AKF) 12th Annual 2008 National 'Kid'ney Kids Calendar art contest for children with kidney disease.
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Living the Writing Life and Being a Peritoneal Dialysis Patient
As someone who has written 43 books down through the years, I am seen as having some sort of supernatural gift. Instead, I started out at least as wide of the mark as Austin and his basketball. With practice, I grew faster and more accurate. Skill? Intellect? I wish I had a lot of either. What I do have is tenacity, the belief that, by now, I can hit some sort of literary basket every time I shoot.
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Poem - Those Who Go, Those Who Stay
I wrote this poem in 1990 when someone asked me about my experiences during the Vietnam War. My daughter Shari then painted a picture for me using my poem as her inspiration. It has the same title and depicts a Vietnam veteran kneeling at "The Wall" memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Spanish Essay Winner
Cuando yo me dí cuenta que tenia esta enfermedad, sentí como si me dieron una sentencia de muerte. Cuarenta-y-siete anos de edad y sentia que tenia mas vida que vivir. Yo no queria morirme. Estuve como tres meses en los hospitales en Lubbock, Tejas. No esta muy lejos de mi casa, como 100 millas, pero tenía como una hora y media en el camino para pensar en lo que podía hacer. Los medicos me dijeron que todavía estaba bastante joven como para un trasplante de riñon.
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Spanish Essay Winner (spanish) - 2008 Essay Contest
Si tuvieramos cien mil dolares para mejorar las condiciones del paciente renal, lo primero que hariamos sería asegurarnos de convertir esa cantidad en un fondo recurrente, protegido por un banco reconocido, fiable y notariado con el proposito de que gane intereses. Para asegurarnos de que se hiciera buen uso de el, seleccionaríamos un comite compuesto de pacientes renales que representaran sus respectivos turnos. De esta manera, cualquier compañero que solicitara ayuda económica, debería presentar su peticion, debidamente justificada, a este comite.
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Spanish Essay Winner - 2008 Essay Contest
If we had one hundred thousand dollars to improve conditions for renal patients, the first thing we would do is to make that amount into a renewable fund, protected by a well-known, trustworthy bank, and notarized so that it earns interest. To make sure that it would be used appropriately, we would select a committee of renal patients to represent their different shifts. This way, any fellow patient who requested economic assistance, would present their request, rightfully justified, to this committee.
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The Big D
I occupy a mooring on Battleship Row. The row across from me is Sleepy Hollow. Between them lie the Pajama Islands, where the nurses and techs have their cabanas. The Hollow has most of the snoozers. I would like to think my row has most of the lively conversation, though sleep is an endless temptation--three hours in and one to go.
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The Renal Teen Prom-Part 2 (Podcast)
This is the second part of our two part series on RSN's 8th annual Renal Teen Prom. Last week we visited with the teens, guests, and volunteers. This week Lori and Stephen talk with the great celebrities who came out and lent their support to this fantastic event. The teens were excited to have the chance to mingle with the celebs and collect their autographs. The prom just wouldn't be the same without the wonderful support of the stars! The locale of the prom-Notre Dame High School-came alive with guest appearances by Sinbad, Alexa Vega, Gary Sinise, John McCook, Christy Carlson Romano, and the LA Clippers Dance team.
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The Warmth of an Idea for Your Vascular Access
I was diagnosed in 1971, so I have known for years that kidney failure was probably in my future. I began hemodialysis in May of 2006. I have an upper arm AV fistula, and while on dialysis found that my access arm got uncomfortably cold. Those of you on hemo know that we can't cover the access arm because the needle site has to be visible to staff at the center at all times.
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Ticket to Work Program
Are you a candidate for this program? If you are a beneficiary of the Ticket to Work program, you may be eligible for hiring. The jobs available to those with disabilities are at various skill levels including entry level positions.
A Ticket to Work holder, are those beneficiaries that were issued a ticket, who would choose to assign those tickets to an employment service of their choice. The service in return would help them to find work and maintain employment. The services can include vocational rehabilitation services or other services that will help achieve the work goal.
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Understanding Hemodialysis Dry Weight (Podcast)
Fluid management is a difficult science in hemodialysis. Dry weight involves a lot of guess work and if incorrectly addressed can cause cramping, crashing, fluid overload and impact your heart's overall health. Anne Diroll, CNN is a clinical support specialist for Hema Metrics. She explains the benefits of blood volume monitoring to help people with kidney disease dialyze to their optimal dry weight.
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Understanding How Inflammation Works (Podcast)
Dialysis is known to cause increased inflammation due to the stress it causes to the entire body as a whole. Dr. Amit Sharma serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Nephrian and is President/Director of Clinical Research of Boise Kidney and Hypertension Institute. He explains what inflammation is and what tests help to detect it. He reviews various vitamins that patients need and describes why it is important to have the proper amount due to dietary and vitamin deficiencies caused by kidney failure.
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Why Can't I Get Medigap Insurance? (Podcast)
Supplemental Medigap insurance is a must when you have kidney disease. Unfortunately, dialysis patients are denied access to Medigap insurance in over 20 States. Wendy Funk-Schrag and Lori Hartwell discuss how this impacts patients and what you can do to educate your elected officials to help change this unfair public policy.
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