Why I Walk

I walk because too many families (like mine) are coping with this devastating chronic illness, and thousands more will face an unexpected kidney disease diagnosis in the year to come.

I walk to support the lifechanging work of the National Kidney Foundation:
     - To ensure that families will have a place to turn when they need answers.
     - To keep up the fight for policy changes to protect kidney patients and living donors.
     - To drive innovation in transplantation and get more loved ones off the kidney transplant waitlist.

Are you with me?

Please consider supporting my efforts with a generous donation. 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Some of you may know that l was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. Over time, my kidney disease has gotten worse;causing my kidneys not to function well enough to keep me alive.  This is what I am facing now. My treatment options are limited to dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant.

Getting regular dialysis treatments (which are usually three times a week for four hours at a time) helps my kidneys do their job and keeps me alive, but a transplant would offer me the freedom and the ability to live a longer, healthier, and more normal life.  A transplant would also give me more time to do the fun things I enjoy most like spending time with you: my family and friends.

However, finding a kidney for a transplant is not easy. Just ask the 100,000+ people who, like me, have been placed on a waiting list.  Sad to say, but this means that our hope is tied to another family losing a loved who must also be a match.  Some wait for years. Many die before a kidney is available.  The average wait time to get a kidney from a diseased donor is 5 or more years… and time is not on our side.  

However, there is another less morbid and quicker option: receiving a kidney from a Living Donor. Asking a family member or a friend to consider donating a kidney to me is very difficult, but it greatly improves my chances of getting a transplant without it coming at the expense of someone else dying.  Additionally, a living kidney donation typically lasts longer and has better functionality.

You might not know a lot about living donations. Neither did I before the disease affected my life.  Understandably, some people are afraid about having surgery and what living with one kidney will mean for them.

That said, here’s some basic information about kidney donation:

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter from and for our family. If donating a kidney to me is something you’reconsidering, I would be happy to tell you more about my story and the process of determining if you are a match for me. My number is (408) 991-4240 and my email is nmasjackson@gmail.com. 

You can also contact my transplant center directly at www.mayoclinic.org/forms/florida-living-donor-transplant .  Any question can be directed to the living donor team at (904-956-3249, Email:FLAlivingkidneydonors@mayo.edu ATTN: Monica Fletcher BSN,RN

Living Donation may not be right for everyone, but you can still help me by sharing my story with everyone you know.  At the very least, you can help me bring awareness about kidney disease and being a Living Donation.  I am hopeful my efforts will help me receive a kidney sooner and encourage others to consider helping the many people that are living with this disease.

 

Thank You,

Nakia S. Jackson