From Greensboro.com, North Carolina, By Jennifer Atkins Brown
Hugh Black (left) donated a kidney to Scott Greene after meeting him at a Presbyterian Pilgrimage. “I made sure enough people knew about what I was doing so I wouldn’t back out,” Black jokes.
Scott Greene, 53, had been on the national transplant waiting list for almost two years when he received a kidney May 31 — from a man he met at a spiritual retreat.
Of the 19 people who completed paperwork to be considered as a donor, all but one knew Greene through his work and leadership with the North Carolina Presbyterian Pilgrimage, a three-day Christian spiritual growth experience.
One of them was Hugh Black, a perfect match.
Greene and Black met five to six years ago through the Presbyterian Pilgrimage, and Greene was the photographer at Black’s wedding.
“When I got the call that I was a match and made the decision to give Scott my kidney, I made sure enough people knew about what I was doing so I wouldn’t back out,” Black said with a laugh. “At first I was apprehensive, then honored and then humbled to think that something inside me could give life to someone else.”
Black, 60, knew Greene’s other option was dialysis for the rest of his life, four hours a day, three days a week, and learned a living donor kidney can prolong life 20 years.
“After that I had no hesitation,” Black said. {read more]
Life with PKD
From Hill Country Community Journal, Kerrville, TX
Kerrville area residents (from left) Pat Mossman, Niki Pillatzke and Dene Kyrish all participated in the recent National Transplant Game in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hill Country residents recently returned to Texas after participating in The National Transplant Games held June 10-15 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Games are an opportunity for individuals from across the USA to “Celebrate, Compete, and Commemorate.”
The Ultimate Gift of Life supported three people in their efforts to compete and celebrate life during the Games. They joined Team Texas Life Warriors, a group of 65 athletes and 88 others traveling from Texas. A total of almost 10,000 living donors, transplant recipients, donor families and supporters came together for five days of competition, special events and remembrance of the donors who have saved lives.
Individuals competing from the Kerrville area were Dene Kyrish, Pat Mossman and Niki Pillatzke.
Kyrish donated a kidney to her sister, Dorcella Sunday, almost 10 years ago. Sunday, from Frederickburg, Texas, was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease and needed a kidney transplant. Kyrish agreed to be tested and was a match. Kyrish participated in the track and field events in Cleveland and won gold medals in the 400M, 200M and 100M events. Her husband, Leon, was her coach, and they both also participated in the 5K.
Mossman, from Kerrville, participated in the Virtual Triathlon by competing in the 500-yard swim, 20K cycle and 1,500M run on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He medaled in all three events and once the times were combined, he won a gold medal for the Virtual Tri. Mossman gave a kidney to his brother-in-law in 1998 when he was suffering from kidney disease. Mossman’s wife, Debbie and his 5-year-old grandson were there to cheer him on.
Pillatzke received a liver when she was six months old. Today, she is 14 and was able to participate in the 5K walk/run, 100M run, softball throw and long jump. She won a gold and two bronze medals in her events, competing against a very strong group of transplant recipients in the 13-19 year old age group. Her grandmother, Terry Outfleet, attended and joined all the rest of the Texas Team in congratulating her on her success. [Read more]
The Ultimate Gift of Life supported three people in their efforts to compete and celebrate life during the Games. They joined Team Texas Life Warriors, a group of 65 athletes and 88 others traveling from Texas. A total of almost 10,000 living donors, transplant recipients, donor families and supporters came together for five days of competition, special events and remembrance of the donors who have saved lives.
Individuals competing from the Kerrville area were Dene Kyrish, Pat Mossman and Niki Pillatzke.
Kyrish donated a kidney to her sister, Dorcella Sunday, almost 10 years ago. Sunday, from Frederickburg, Texas, was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease and needed a kidney transplant. Kyrish agreed to be tested and was a match. Kyrish participated in the track and field events in Cleveland and won gold medals in the 400M, 200M and 100M events. Her husband, Leon, was her coach, and they both also participated in the 5K.
Mossman, from Kerrville, participated in the Virtual Triathlon by competing in the 500-yard swim, 20K cycle and 1,500M run on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He medaled in all three events and once the times were combined, he won a gold medal for the Virtual Tri. Mossman gave a kidney to his brother-in-law in 1998 when he was suffering from kidney disease. Mossman’s wife, Debbie and his 5-year-old grandson were there to cheer him on.
Pillatzke received a liver when she was six months old. Today, she is 14 and was able to participate in the 5K walk/run, 100M run, softball throw and long jump. She won a gold and two bronze medals in her events, competing against a very strong group of transplant recipients in the 13-19 year old age group. Her grandmother, Terry Outfleet, attended and joined all the rest of the Texas Team in congratulating her on her success. [Read more]
Dialysis News
Many patients with kidney disease are unable to travel on cruise ships because they require a dialysis machine when traveling, but that recently changed and the process is easier than you think.
There's a company called Dialysis at Sea Cruises that helps individuals and their families experience their cruising vacation by offering the procedure right on the ships. They send a board eligible/certified nephrologist with two or more dialysis nurses on the cruise.
"Our medical staff is English speaking and recruited primarily from North America. Twenty-four hours a day, patients can 'beep' our shipboard dialysis staff, and if necessary, they can reach our stateside medical support personnel around the clock," their website reads. "We use the new generation Fresenius 2008K for your dialysis treatment. It provides maximum flexibility for your specific prescription with excellent performance and reliability."
Dialysis at Sea provides services on select cruise lines they include: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America and Norwegian. There has been some talk that Carnival might be added as another company to offer these services, but we haven't been able to verify.
The cost of dialysis on cruise ships is based on a flat rate determined by the length of the trip. While some insurance companies might pay a percentage, it's an out-of-pocket expensive until the kidney patient is reimbursed. Medicare and Medicaid do not cover this service, which is very unfortunate.
"The DASC staff members on board the ship were pleasant, helpful, and accommodating, especially Johnny the RN and Marc the LPN, and Dr. Karp. The dialysis facility was comfortable and the use of large beds was very relaxing," Janice and Pasquale wrote.
Dialysis is a treatment that filters and purifies the blood using a machine to keep a body in balance when the kidneys fail. The procedure has been used since the 1940s. This procedure helps keep your body in balance when the kidneys can’t do their job. Dialysis was discovered by Dr Willem Kolff, a young Dutch physician, who constructed an artificial kidney in 1943. Since then, he's been considered the father of dialysis.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, the kidney dialysis side effects when on a cruise may be the discomfort when the needles are put into the fistula or graft, but most patients have no other problems and the treatment itself is painless. "However, some patients may have a drop in their blood pressure. If this happens, you may feel sick to your stomach, vomit, have a headache or cramps. With frequent treatments, those problems usually go away."
Some might call it a medical breakthrough to offer the treatment on cruise ships, and it seems to be gaining more popularity. Right now, there appears to be more people using the service on Holland America than any other cruise line.
-removes waste, salt and extra water to prevent them from building up in the body Acute Dialysis
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