This is just my little page to hopefully find a viable kidney donor and to share updates concerning my journey with End Stage Renal Disease.
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Hi. I'm Bryan. I'm 35 years old and I'm living with End Stage Renal Disease. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease during a routine check-up in May 2012. Not knowing anything about the disease and not really believing it, I didn't pay much attention. On my follow-up visit a few months later, my blood labs had indicated that I was now in Stage 4 of the disease. My kidney function... had continued to decline and I was told that I would need dialysis soon.
Having been born with a horseshoe kidney (conjoined), I was no stranger to hospitals when I was growing up. Recently, my doctor has further diagnosed me with Alport's Syndrome which is a genetic condition characterized by kidney disease, hearing loss, and eye abnormalities. Significant hearing loss, eye abnormalities, and progressive kidney disease are more common in males with Alport syndrome than in affected females. I put off starting dialysis for a few months and during that time, I was hospitalized three times for various electrolyte imbalances. I was told that my potassium had grown to such a high level that I was in danger of having a heart attack. Things seemed pretty grim.
I reluctantly succumbed to dialysis on January 13, 2013 after receiving a call from my kidney doctor urging me to go straight to the ER for an emergency treatment. I go to these treatments three times a week and they last approximately 4.5 hours. During that time, my blood is taken out and passed through an artificial kidney to keep me alive. Dialysis is kind of a last resort thing to keep me alive until I can get a kidney. Getting a kidney transplant is NOT A CURE. Donated kidneys don't last forever but they do provide some semblance of a normal life and they give the recipients freedom from being tethered to the dialysis machine for the rest of their lives. If donating your kidney sounds like something you would like to know more about, I urge you to visit the National Kidney Foundation's page for more information or simply message me. Thanks for taking the time to read about my cause.
https://www.facebook.com/BryanNeedsANewBean
Having been born with a horseshoe kidney (conjoined), I was no stranger to hospitals when I was growing up. Recently, my doctor has further diagnosed me with Alport's Syndrome which is a genetic condition characterized by kidney disease, hearing loss, and eye abnormalities. Significant hearing loss, eye abnormalities, and progressive kidney disease are more common in males with Alport syndrome than in affected females. I put off starting dialysis for a few months and during that time, I was hospitalized three times for various electrolyte imbalances. I was told that my potassium had grown to such a high level that I was in danger of having a heart attack. Things seemed pretty grim.
I reluctantly succumbed to dialysis on January 13, 2013 after receiving a call from my kidney doctor urging me to go straight to the ER for an emergency treatment. I go to these treatments three times a week and they last approximately 4.5 hours. During that time, my blood is taken out and passed through an artificial kidney to keep me alive. Dialysis is kind of a last resort thing to keep me alive until I can get a kidney. Getting a kidney transplant is NOT A CURE. Donated kidneys don't last forever but they do provide some semblance of a normal life and they give the recipients freedom from being tethered to the dialysis machine for the rest of their lives. If donating your kidney sounds like something you would like to know more about, I urge you to visit the National Kidney Foundation's page for more information or simply message me. Thanks for taking the time to read about my cause.
https://www.facebook.com/BryanNeedsANewBean
TAGS: bryan needs a new bean, Ning, Live Journal, Tumblr, Weebly, WordPress, Facebook, Kidney Stories, Jim Myers, kidney, dialysis, blood, transfusion, donor, recipient, seeking, awareness, National Kidney Foundation, Indiana University, sharing, kidney disease, End Stage Renal Failure, polycystic kidney disease, chronic kidney disease, kidney for, diabetic, save my life, living kidney donor, organ donation, find a kidney for, NCS, share a spare, transplant list, fundraiser, donate life,
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