This deviates from the regular blog theme, but a friend of mine, staceyT, has something important to say about this disease, and I thought I would re-post some important facts here. There is not much awareness spread about this disease.
If you feel moved by what you read, please consider donating to StaceyT and the PKD Foundation here.
Polycystic Kidney Disease is one of the most common, life-threatening genetic diseases, affecting 600,000 Americans and 12.5 million people worldwide. PKD is more common than Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and sickle cell anemia - combined. Polycystic Kidney Disease causes fluid filled cysts to form on both kidneys. Over time, these cysts grow and multiply, sometimes dramatically in size. For most patients, their PKD ultimately causes the kidneys to shut down. Once that happens, dialysis and transplant are their only options to prolong life. Parents with the dominant form of PKD have a 50% chance of passing the disease on to each of their children. For the recessive form, ARPKD, parents have usually never heard of PKD until their newborn is diagnosed with it. For 30% of newborns, ARPKD is fatal.
Although there is no treatment or cure for Polycystic Kidney Disease, there is hope… Stacey's dad has had 2 kidney transplants in the last year (the 2nd kidney is doing very well and as of June 30th he's past the 3 month post transplant mark!). But even though he now has a functioning kidney, the battle is far from over. He has other PKD related health issues to deal with on a daily basis. Plus, both Stacey and her sister each have a 50% chance of getting PKD. Please consider joining our fight — by donating to the cause, registering for the walk (and raising funds) — or both! Every little bit helps!
In other news, Bleu Bella Paperie has graciously decided to donate all card sales from her store to the PKD Foundation. In addition, Belinda and I are committed to donating a $1 for every comment on Bleu Bella Paperie's post, to StaceyT's cause. So head on over and leave a comment. To sweeten the deal, there is also a blog giveaway.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
1 comment:
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