| Franks's Story |
| Frank received a bowling ball from the foundation. |
 I got supper ready for my wife’s birthday in June of 05 and had a heart attack after supper. I went
on to hemo dialysis one week later, stayed in the hospital for 43 days straight. In November of 05 I got my big toe cut off and in
February of 06 I got the rest of my toes cut off the healing process was very slow. I am always fighting to return to any physical
activity, never giving up even though I have ulcers on the bottom of my foot. Trying to have a bright outlook on life and not give
up. |
| Robert's Story |
| Robert received a one year gym membership from the foundation. |
| I have been on dialysis for four years now and have watched my quality of life erode to the point
that a simple walk is now in effort and the task of doing my garden and cleaning the floors of my apartment have been out of my
touch. I was in the past a very fit and active person, in the past I used to work out three days a week riding my bike and walk
long distances with little effort. After the loss of my kidney function I have become more and more dependant on others to do the
things that I used to get much enjoyment from, as well as my independence I would love to be able return to work as I now live on
a small disability pension that makes for little to devote into personal needs like fitness. I would like to gain my life back to
the best of my ability I guess to get my life off of hold, which it feels like now. After meeting Shad I feel that this is
possible. |
| Zeljko's Story |
| Zeljko received a treadmill from the foundation. |
| Diabetes has been a devastating effect on my health, my family and my life. Two years in a row I had
two separate serious foot infections. To years ago I began to loose my sight. I am now severely visually impaired. Last year I
started hemo dialysis. Being on dialysis three times a week drains me of energy and motivation. Though I am able to get out of the
house on my own, it is difficult, especially at this time of year. The combination of all these problems limits my mobility. I
believe I would feel better if I could only get myself moving. That’s why I am writing to you. My aspirations are not grand, but I
believe a treadmill would be a convenient and safe way of getting my body moving. A treadmill would free me of the physical
obstacles that I face walking down the street. It has been a long, painful and frustrating journey and I am thankful to have the
support of a loving family. |
| Kimberly's Story |
| Kimberly received a bicycle from the foundation. |
My name is Kim Barrey. I am from Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. I have always had an interest working with the elderly people. Christopher is my loving husband and Ivy my four year old daughter who is my sunshine. I have been on dialysis for 4 ½ years. Many challenges have come my way, although I always seem to work through them. I have been accepted for TEAM IRELAND 2008. I am so excited to have been chosen. I enjoyed when Shad came to London, Ontario to speak, he made me realize that there is more to life than sleeping and feeling self pity for myself.
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| Brendon's Story |
| Brendon received a one year gym membership from the foundation. |
I was diagnosed with acute renal failure at the age of twenty after several bouts of pneumonia. I started dialysis one year later, and have since become a self care patient. I have been on dialysis for two years and am currently awaiting a transplant.
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| Steven's Story |
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Steven received a treadmill from the foundation. |
Steven shared with us that he wants to be able to walk with his wife and son.
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| Miriam's Story |
Miriam received an Eliptical Machine from the foundation.
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 How I came about having to do dialysis is quite an unusual story.
All my life I have been a fairly active person and had absolutely no health issues. I also used to compete in trampoline at the provincial level and was doing quite well in that sport.
One year I had even won the third place bronze medal for the adult division.
At that point in my life, my health was great and I was looking forwards to completing high school soon and was busy making plans for the future.
Then one day my life suddenly changed- I went from being perfectly healthy at 19 years old to having to start dialysis right away.
What was even stranger was that no one believed I was ill and the hospital had sent me home from emergency three times in one week before they realized my kidneys had stopped working.
After my second visit to the emergency room I started to feel even worse overnight, the next morning I had gone back to the hospital as I was sure something was wrong with me as I felt even worse than before.
Yet the hospital staff had done another round of blood tests and they had come back "perfectly fine" I was told.
The next day I received a phone call from the hospital- but they would not tell me what was wrong, just that I needed to come back for more tests.
When I got there later that day I was told that I needed to be admitted and that I would have to start emergency dialysis as my kidneys were not working at the moment.
No one at the hospital could tell me if my kidney problems were permanent or not as well at this point.
What was also quite unusual is that none of my family members have a history or kidney problems. As it turns out my kidneys did not recover. The doctors at the hospital performed a number of tests- yet still had no idea what caused my kidney problems.
One conclusion is that a type of virus damaged my kidneys.
I continued to do dialysis 3 times a week while trying to finish high school and work part-time.
When I was 23 I received a kidney transplant from the waiting list-unfortunately that did not work out because some of the medications given to me damaged the kidney.
After this I went back on the waiting list and started university.
Again at the age of 26 I was called again for another try at a transplant. Things were going really well when I was in the hospital. After about a week though I started to become severely dehydrated while in the hospital and the kidney stopped working from that.
I then continued doing dialysis at the hospital- as my city only has 1 centre (and could not qualify for the home program as you need someone to watch you the whole time).
In between all this I managed to graduate from university and am now trying to decide what to do with my future.
I like to do many recreational sports and have an interest in skiing, cycling, ice-skating and inline skating.
I like most sports activities, but do know that I need to be more consistent with an exercise plan that I follow every week- as I am not doing as much as the moment.
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