Dialysis is a way of life for Rene

[okarol]

Dialysis is a way of life for Rene

By Michael Speck
Regional
Feb 29, 2008

Spending 12 hours a week attached to a dialysis machine isn't anyone's idea of an ideal situation, but Rene Deprez Jr. makes the best of it.

Although he doesn't sleep during the procedure, he gets comfortable and watches television, reads and even does paper work. Last week he finished his taxes early, so he moved on to another task.

"I ended up stuffing envelopes for four hours," said Deprez.

Being on dialysis is nothing new to Deprez, a past president and board member with the Kidney Foundation, who was diagnosed with kidney disease when he was two years old. He was in and out of the hospital regularly during infancy, and become a patient at the Hotel Dieu Hospital when he was six, the same site he visits now for his dialysis treatments.

At age 16, Deprez spent two weeks in hospital with pneumonia. At age 25, suffering from chronic fatigue as a result of his condition, he was told that he needed a transplant or would have to begin dialysis treatments.

Luckily, Deprez found a blood match in his family and only needed seven months of dialysis before getting his first kidney transplant from his sister on May 10, 1995.

Deprez's body began to reject his new kidney about two years ago. Deprez, now 43, is fortunate to have another match in his niece and is hoping to get his next transplant this summer.

Short of a transplant, dialysis is the only treatment for kidney disease, a condition that affects more than 30,000 Canadians. Dialysis machines mimic functions of the kidneys, pulling blood from the patient's body and running it through tubes that clean that toxins that would be filtered in a normal functioning kidney.

Dialysis can cause cramping and low blood pressure. But it's the only option for sufferers who have to wait the eight- to 10-year average for a suitable transplant.

March is Kidney Month, and it's when the Kidney Foundation launches the March Drive, the month-long canvassing campaign which will generate about a third of the regional branch's revenue for the entire year, said Tony Tirone, regional manager for Niagara and Hamilton with the Kidney Foundation.

About 1,400 canvassers will be deployed, with the goal or raising about $115,000, he said.

For more information on kidney disease, the March Drive campaign or to volunteer, visit the Kidney Foundation's website at www.kidney.ca.

http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/communities/Regional/article/158158

[kitkatz]

This man has had a transplant and is waiting for another one.  How can they say Dialysis is a way of life for him?  No, no, no. Dialysis is a way of life for me! I am stuck with it for the rest of my life.