Kidney battles forgotten on fun day

Mon, June 25, 2007
Kidney battles forgotten on fun day

UPDATED: 2007-06-25 01:47:19 MST
By DAVE DORMER

Kids suffering from chronic kidney disease were given a cheerful distraction yesterday with a special picnic aimed at offering a day of fun as opposed to a battery of tests.

About 140 patients from Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan, along with their families, took part in the sixth-annual Kidney Kids Family Picnic at Heritage Park, featuring an afternoon of games and a buffet lunch.

Dr. Julian Midgley, usually dressed rather smartly when he interacts with patients at Alberta Children's Hospital, opted to go with a slightly more casual look yesterday, donning face paint, shorts and a T-shirt to help pitch in on the fun.

"This is all about them having fun," said the chief of pediatric nephrology at ACH, minutes after being dogpiled by a group of kids.

"Because having chronic kidney disease is not an awful lot of fun."

Midgley added the annual picnic is becoming as much for parents as the young patients.

"We actually find a lot of networking gets done between the parents," he said.

"Knowing other kids have gone through something theirs is going through.

"It's a chance for them to interact in a non-medical environment where everyone is the same."

That sense of community is especially relevant to Kristy Allary.

The Calgary mother donated part of her own kidney to her youngest son, Michael, last November after the toddler was diagnosed with congenital nephrotic syndrome at four-weeks-old.

Today, Michael is happy and healthy.

"We came last year and I met a woman who I have been in contact with pretty much every day since then," she said.

"Support makes everything so much easier."

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2007/06/25/4288120-sun.html