Hope for People with PKD
“Letter to the Editor” by Debbie Langston, East Texas Chapter
Longview News-Journal
February 26, 2006
I want to tell my story in hopes that it might help someone else. In 1999 I came down with a horrible kidney infection which sent me to the hospital. At that time I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. It really didn't come as a surprise to me, because my father has it. I knew I had a 50/50 chance of inheriting it, as do my children and grandchildren. I took the news pretty well, because I thought it really wouldn't make a lot of difference in my life at that point.
Well, I was wrong!
In just a matter of a couple years, my kidney function really started declining, though I did what I could to help save what kidney function I had. I felt like my life was falling apart. In March 2005, I was told I was going to have to go on dialysis. This is a horrible feeling when you are told that you are going to have to depend on a machine to sustain your life. I found out that life does go on. I just decided to take a positive approach and do what I can to make the best of it.
Most people have never heard of it PKD. It is the most common life-threatening genetic disease. It affects both genders, all ages, and all races. A genetic defect produces multiple cysts in the kidneys, causing high blood pressure, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and eventually for most of us, kidney failure. I became a member of the PKD Foundation. I remember being so excited the day I got a little card in the mail from them telling of a support group in Longview. I could talk to people that were going through the same thing that I was going through.
I have to admit I was nervous to take the first step to walk in there. I had never joined a support group of any kind and didn't know what to expect. I was welcomed with big smiles by Teresa and Ben Andrus. After the meeting was over, Teresa took time and talked to me while I cried and told her my story. That meant so much to me. That was about two years ago. This group is now the official East Texas Chapter of the PKD Foundation.
Our purpose is to connect with PKD patients and families, to offer them support and encouragement. We share the latest nutrition, life style, and research information to help them have the best possible quality of life. We also raise funds for research for treatment and cure. We want PKD folks to know that there is help and hope. I am determined to make the best of my life and to help others if I can with their struggles with Polycystic Kidney Disease.
If you are a family affected with PKD, we invite you to come participate in our group. The next meeting is April 22 at 1 p.m. at Hope Fellowship, 300 Hollybrook Drive, Longview. If you need more information please feel free to email me at DebbiePKD@aol.com or Teresa at ResaPKD@juno.com.