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On July 1, 2011, Ronald S. Taubman, Board Member and Chair of UKRO’s Development Committee was appointed to a two-year term on the OPTN/UNOS Kidney Committee. Ron has been involved in local, state, and national organ and tissue donation and transplant issues for the last 10 years. He previously served as the Region 5 Representative on the OPTN/UNOS Pancreas Committee from July 2007 to June 2009.

Congratulations, Ron and thank you for all the work you do on behalf of UKRO and the kidney community!

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We’re excited to announce that UKRO will be sponsoring a rider on the 2012 Donate Life Rose Parade float. Next year’s parade theme, “Just Imagine…” pairs perfectly with the Donate Life float theme of “…One More Day,” envisioning a dream day when past moments are recaptured and new memories are made – “when donor families are reunited with loved ones, transplant recipients thrive, and living and registered donors step forward so that a life-saving transplant is available to everyone in need.”  Research undoubtedly plays a part in making “one more day” possible for kidney patients, transplant recipients, and their families, and we’re proud to be a part of this inspiring float.

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DIARY OF A KIDNEY LOVER

This is the diary entry I didn’t want to write because I have to tell you that my Uncle Bob passed away a few weeks ago.  I have been thinking about this a lot, trying to figure out how to start this blog, how to include all the things I want to say.  I even tried writing some of this in a handmade journal in a Starbuck’s, without edits or stalling, just words and scribbles and arrows.  It helped a little, but in the end, it was time to go and the entry was not complete.  And when I left, I thought I saw my uncle sitting at a table outside.  The mind sometimes sees what it wants to see.  On the walk home, I saw three very real and very tiny lizards cross my path, felt the sun on my back and thought how beautiful the planet is.  And I thought about all the days that had led up to that one.  My uncle, a long-time diabetic and more recent kidney disease patient, had been admitted to the hospital following a stroke and heart attack – pretty typical ailments for someone afflicted with kidney disease.  Seven weeks of up and down days followed.  This, too, was probably pretty typical.  Everyone thought he was finally getting better until a series of infections took over his body.

On that walk, I didn’t want to think too much about the physical part of his illness.  I figured there would be time for that later.  I decided simply to remember my uncle.  I dug deep and realized that he and my aunt had taught me two of my most important lessons.  They made a good team, you see; she was everyone’s favorite nursery school teacher and he was a policeman with the city of LA.  Uncle Bob could be fun and he could be stern, obviously a good disciplinarian, which brings me back to my lessons.  First, don’t be a tattletale.  People don’t like tattletales and ultimately, they stop listening to your stories.  Second, don’t throw a metal toy gun at anyone’s head.  Yes, my cousin Matt made me so mad that I threw a little gun at him.  Thankfully, he was a moving target and the gun must have just grazed him, but it made him bleed.  I still remember the faces of my aunt and uncle, near tears with concern for their son.  They were gentle with me though, determined to get through.  And they taught me in the kindest way possible – through the visible love they demonstrated that day – that violence is never the answer.

I think I will end it here.  August 10 was my Uncle Bob’s birthday.  He would have been 64 today.  What an example he has been in my life!

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DIARY OF A KIDNEY LOVER

At a party some Sundays ago, a man I’d just met said to me, “You must love kidneys.”  No, I wasn’t slurping them up with fava beans and a nice Chianti.  (I’m a vegetarian, for the record.)  He was referring to my work – the hours I divide between UKRO and DaVita Dialysis.  “You give a lot of time to those lucky organs,” he said.  I admit that sometimes I am “all kidney all the time.”  However, I know I can do more.  And this is how I know.  I like to read the obituaries.  When I come across one eulogizing a lifelong advocate of this or a tireless activist for that, I am particularly inspired.  Here was a person who cared enough to fight for something.  I want to be that kind of person.  I think of some of the dedicated people I have known, past and present – the nurses whose compassion means everything to their patients, the researchers who light up describing the complexity of the kidney.  Dedicated people are not necessarily content.  They keep pushing themselves.  They keep asking themselves how they can do better.

So how can I do better?  How can I do more?

First, I will embrace who I am.  My name is Michelle and I am a kidney lover.  I worked as a DaVita marketing manager for just over 8 years and I continue to work for them as a graphic design consultant.  In my time there, I have guided traveling patients to dialysis centers, have organized and attended trade shows for nephrologists and patients and have worked on ads that I hope attracted a few good nurses and doctors.  For the last 6 months, I have been working with UKRO, learning more about kidney disease than ever before.  That may be because the disease is suddenly personal.  My uncle, who is diabetic, started dialysis barely a year ago.  And I know way too many diabetics who are at increased risk for kidney disease.

Second, I will raise awareness about this devastating and, in many cases, preventable disease.  I will blog about kidney disease, sharing personal stories and the latest news about research, causes, prevention, treatment, diet, whatever I see and hear.

Third, I will make a donation to UKRO.  It takes a lot of money and time to make a medical breakthrough, but it does happen.  Every dollar helps.  Small grants help researchers take their work to the next level so they can get even bigger government grants.  With more dollars come more researchers, more ideas, more approaches to a cure.

I am taking a little break from writing this blog, going to our website, clicking on the Donate Now button.

There!  It’s done.  That was easy.  I hope that you’ll join me.

Now I am ready to make it official.  I am updating my Facebook status today:  Yes, I am a kidney lover!

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