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Annual kidney walk raises awareness Jennifer McIntosh
jennifer.mcintosh@metroland.com
News - Orléans resident Kassie Stephan has been dealing with kidney issues since she was a toddler. She was diagnosed with cystinosis, a rare genetic metabolic disease, when she was three years old. While she became well acquainted with the nephrosis team at CHEO, Stephan said she led a relatively normal life until she was 13. To help her failing kidneys, the teen was on dialysis three times a week for six hours at a time. Near the time she had her transplant, time on dialysis increased to 16 hours a day. “I was only off dialysis to go to school,” she said. It was Sept. 17, 2008 when her pager went off, indicating that there was a kidney available. “I started to dream off a normal life,” Stephan said. The transplant was done two days later, but by July those dreams quickly faded. “I was in full rejection by then,” Stephan said, adding she has been Jennifer McIntosh/Metroland waiting on the transplant list for four Anik, Christian and baby Damien Charbonneau turned up at the years. Her mother, Connie Alguire, could annual Kidney Walk fundraiser on Sept. 29 in support of friend Anthony Parsons, an organ recipient who recently competed in an iron be a match but wasn’t healthy enough to undergo the procedure. As a result, man competition.
Jennifer McIntosh/Metroland
Kassie Stephan, an Orleans teen who has undergone a kidney transplant and subsequent rejection, told her story at the kickoff of the annual Kidney Walk on Sept. 29. she has undergone a gastric bypass and lost 80 pounds in the last year. “Maybe my dream of a normal life is that much closer,” Stephan said. Stephan’s speech kicked off the annual Kidney Wallk on Sept. 29, which boasted 150 people hoping to raise awareness about kidney disease and raise funds for the Kidney Foun-
dation of Ottawa. Bruce Hill, a manger with the Kidney Foundation, said Stephan’s story wasn’t unusual for those that suffer from kidney disease. The foundation has raised more than 100 million for research since its inception in 1964. Hill said the annual walk is one of the biggest fundraisers for the foundation, which also offers support for dialysis patients through peer groups and counselling. “There are five stages of kidney disease but most people don’t know about it until their kidneys are failing,” Hill said. Hill added most dialysis patients are living in poverty-like conditions. “If you have to go get dialysis three times a week for a few hours at a time it’s tough to hold down a job,” he said. The charity raised more than $700,000 from this year’s walk. Bradley Ralph, 14 and Matthew Bates, 11, from Vernon were firsttime walkers. “We are excited to participate,” Bradley said. According to the foundation, there are currently 10,000 Ontarians living with some form of kidney disease. For more information, visit www. kidney.ca.
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Orléans News EMC - Thursday, October 10, 2013
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