Dear Abby

[Vicky]

I love dear abby and get it in email every day.  This is one that came in a few days ago. 

EARLY SCREENING FOR DISEASE CAN PREVENT KIDNEY FAILURE

DEAR ABBY: I was a healthy 12-year-old girl in junior high,
sociable and energetic with no cares in the world, until one
day my mother noticed I wasn't my usual self. I was tired
and had no interest in any activities. Frustrated, she
encouraged me to try out for my school's volleyball team.

What was supposed to be a routine physical for the team
turned into a life-changing experience. I did not end up
making the team. Instead I was diagnosed with chronic kidney
disease. My test results showed that I had too much protein
in my urine. After more tests, I was told I was in kidney
failure.

I was only 12, and I didn't understand why this was happening
to me. Nobody was expecting the news we got that day. The
doctors told my parents that I would need to go on dialysis
or have a kidney transplant and we should start looking for
a donor.

A urine test was never part of any of my annual checkups. But
protein in the urine is one of the earliest signs of kidney
disease. That simple test might have prevented me from losing
both kidneys.

Nearly 100,000 men, women and children are now on the waiting
list for a lifesaving organ transplant. One hundred people
are added to the list -- and 17 die -- every day. With early
detection kidney disease can be prevented. So please urge
your readers to get screened now and screened often.
            -- KLARISSA RAMIREZ, MINNEAPOLIS

DEAR KLARISSA: Thank you for your letter. I was, frankly,
shocked to learn from it that kidney disease could strike a
person at such a tender age. I'm pleased to pass along your
important message.

Readers, March is National Kidney Month -- and March 12 is
World Kidney Day. The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has
a screening program called KEEP, which stands for Kidney
Early Evaluation Program. On World Kidney Day, KEEP will
offer FREE screenings in cities across the country for people
at risk for kidney disease.

If you or a family member has diabetes or high blood
pressure, or if there is a history of kidney disease in
your family, visit kidney.org to learn more and locate a
screening near you, or call the National Kidney Foundation
at 1-800-622-9010.

[kitkatz]

This was already posted in the news article area.
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=12751.0

[swramsay]

Vicki,
Thanks for the effort to post that. That must have taken a while to type all of that. I never knew there was a news article area so would have missed it.

This is a big site with topics spread all over the place. It's hard to take the time to visit every single one. The online forum format has some advantages but one disadvantage is the time it takes to connect online for each post. Too bad the messages can't automatically go to my email inbox in entirety and skip the online download times!

Thanks again Vicki.

[Vicky]

This was already posted in the news article area.
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=12751.0

my bad