| Derrick's Story |
| Derrick received a Trek Mountain bike from the foundation. |
I am a 45 year old Canadian boy from Winnipeg. I have been on dialysis since June of 1995. I believe exercise and a good mental
attitude are what keep me doing so well. I wrote a poem LIVE LIFE BIG and I live by it. You can read my poetry at
www.poetry.com enter Derrick Kess in the poets name and enter. Enjoy. I ride my bike
everyday unless the wind chill gets a little cool. When it warms up I ride everywhere. I don't depend on anyone for a ride, rain
or shine I ride. I take grape seed extract everyday. I really think antioxidants have helped me in my pursuit of life. Dialysis
is not a great way to live it has made me see how special a person’s health is. And how easily you can lose that. I chose to live
my life happy till my dying day.
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| Alisa's Story |
| Alisa received a trek mountain bike from the foundation. |
 I am 27 years old and graduated from Brandon University with my BA and my BED. Dialysis has changed my life in every way. I
moved back home with my parents, leaving my new beginning for the comforts of home. I have learnt a lot from the Winnipeg
support groups, presenters but more importantly I feel like I contributed and connected to others. I truly believe that this is
beneficial to my recovery and more importantly my outlook on life.
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| Howard's Story |
| Howard received a gym membership from the foundation. |
I have been on peritoneal dialysis since the middle of June 2007. Since I got my catheter on the 16th of May (when asked by the nurse who my doctor was- I could only answer “a masked man”), I have been well attended to by the super staff at St. Boniface Hospital especially “sergeant-major Josie” my primary trainer and the Baxter supplier has been most accommodating.
My life has changed. Everything I do is governed by my dialysis routine. Staying out late at night is impossible, since I need to be on dialysis by nine o’clock which eliminates almost all educational, recreational and social activities, so I am slowly reorganizing my life and hopefully improving it. One of the goals is that I want to improve my health by going to the gym daily.
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| Rhonda's
Story |
| Rhonda
received a treadmill from the foundation. |
| I was diagnosed
with diabetes when I was 10 years old. I struggled
with a very brittle form of diabetes and had a
lot of trouble controlling my blood sugar levels.
My only pregnancy damaged my kidneys and also
compromised my eyesight. When I was 31 years old
I had a heart attack. After the attack my health
deteriorated, and six years later my kidneys failed.
I am now 42 years old and go for dialysis three
times a week. I am the mother of a fantastic 19
year old son named Kevin. Two years I met a wonderful
man who lives me, regardless of the illness and
the challenges I face. I want to be able to walk
down the isle on our wedding day. I also want
to be there for my son as long as possible. In
order to do this I must improve my health. I recently
had the chance to meet Shad Ireland at my Dialysis
unit. I am truly inspired by his struggles and
strength to overcome the obstacles in his life.
When talking with shad he offered to provide me
the electric treadmill. I am overwhelmed by his
generosity and kindness. |
| An update from Rhonda |
| Dear Shad,
I just want to thank you for having the treadmill delivered to me. I am walking on it now and it’s a challenge just to walk but I still get on it every day sometimes twice a day. I look forward to the day that I might be able to play with my children on the basketball court and do other activities with them. I think you are doing a wonderful job in getting the message across to dialysis patients that they can empower themselves through physical exercise. I look forward to hearing form you on other ideas of health growth.
P.S. When I first started out I thought it was going to be easy but my God is it a hard challenge.
Sincerely,
Rhonda
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