With World Kidney Day coming up on Thursday 12 March, we wanted to open up a discussion.
World Kidney Day is marked each year to raise awareness of kidney health and the impact of kidney disease. For some, it’s a day of advocacy and community. For others, it can bring up difficult emotions or feel like just another date on the calendar.
Do you mark or celebrate World Kidney Day in any way?
Does it feel meaningful to you, or does it not really resonate?
There’s no right or wrong way to feel about it. Whether you’ve been personally affected by kidney disease, support someone who has or are part of the wider community, your perspective matters.
We don’t celebrate WKD as it seems insensitive due to hubby not having any kidneys! We do appreciate and support any organisations who champion the cause throughout the year though.
Thank you for sharing and for being so honest about how World Kidney Day feels for you @Purpledaze! Awareness days can land very differently depending on personal experiences. We really appreciate you both still cheering on others doing so
Things are afoot now which may lead to a wee trip down the transplant path - in which case we would most certainly celebrate WKD - but we’re not building our hopes up just yet! As hubby says, he’s just grateful to be still pink and breathing 7 years after losing his second kidney!
World Kidney Day does resonate with me, although I feel every day is an opportunity to raise awareness of our journeys, also sharing facts and Charity information. I try to do this throughout the year.
On World Kidney Day we try to arrange something different to the normal info sharing througout the year.
This year as Community Ambassadors we will be on level 6 at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth assisting NHS staff and the Transplant team on their WKD awareness table, we will also have a radio reporter from Hospital Radio Plymouth coming along to record a broadcast to be released soon after.
We were fortunate to have just returned from this weekends Rotary District Conference in Plymouth, where we had an awareness stand over the two days, other exciting things to look forward to this year are, there will be 2 runners competing and raising funds for KRUK on May 17th at Plymouth’s Ocean City 10k.
Also although facilitated by another local charity, I will have several presentations to attend, which enables me to talk about my journey with CKD over the last 11 years to year 1 & 2 medical students at Plymoith University. So as I said earlier, every day is like World Kidney Day.
I’m so happy for you purpledaze and your hubby that things are moving along and I’m keeping all my fingers and toes crossed for you both that a transplant is in the near future. Then that would definitely be a day to celebrate.
What an incredible list of activities @DougK! You truly are such a wonderful Kidney Research UK ambassador and we are so grateful for everything you do and continue to do .
Really love you sharing that every day is like World Kidney Day!
Hi guys hope you all ok I don’t celebrate world kidney day myself but I do acknowledge it.being a ckd stage 3b to 4 I am in kidney day everyday like many of you . I deal with many symptoms of ckd and had over 30 operations on my kidneys so when I get good results be it as little as having blood pressure OK or pain not too bad or reprieve from itchy skin or big results such as coming through another operation then I celebrate each and everyone of those positive outcomes and don’t need a specific day to do so.but those people who do celebrate I wish you a very happy world kidney day x
Both of our daughters have volunteered a kidney too but it’s early days yet. Hubby has had all the tests and the results appear to be favourable so the process has begun with our local transplant team. It’s more complicated though, as his oncologist has not been in favour of transplant. She fears that the anti-rejection meds might spark up any micro cancer cells that are dormant in his body. There will be multi disciplinary meetings between the consultants and surgeons. Nothing is ever straightforward in this family!!
I’m so glad that all the tests have been positive. Although it’s not been straightforward good things come to those who have to wait or at least that’s what I’ve been toldmy journey has also not been great I’ve had 30 operations on my kidneys due to making large kidney stones too big to pasd but I’m thankful I’m stable at stage 3b to 4 and not on dialysis yet. So I send positive thoughts to your whole family and keep us all updated x
Thank you, @Aura! I’m sorry you’ve had such a rocky path in the past but I hope you’ll remain stable for a good long stretch. It’s a lot to take in at the moment but (as my grandma used to say) what’s for us won’t go by us!! I’m quite sure I’ll be on here throughout the process to get stuff out of my system.
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