Lehighton Woman Plans Walk Against Kidney Disease
September fundraiser to fight to cure for genetic disorder.
By Terry Ahner
Special to The Morning Call
As far as Karen Reichard could tell, she was just as healthy as anyone else.
Then in March, Reichard, 38, of Lehighton was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a life-threatening genetic disorder in which cysts develop in both kidneys, hindering their filtering ability.
But rather than dwell on the negative, Reichard has decided not only to combat her disease, but also to help others fight it, too.
She has organized a fundraising walk, scheduled for Sept. 16 in Lehighton, with the PKD Foundation. The group's mission is to promote research to find a cure and to improve the care and treatment for those with the disorder.
Reichard, a mother of two, said she experienced fatigue and for two months had pain down her leg that she thought was muscle strain. She went to her family doctor who sent her to a spinal specialist. Magnetic resonance imaging showed cysts on her kidneys, pancreas and liver.
She then saw a urologist, and she learned she had PKD.
Taryn Egelanian, manager for the Northeast Volunteer Program of the PKD Foundation, said the disease affects one in 500 people. Besides reducing kidney function, the cysts also squeeze blood vessels, forcing blood pressure to rise.
Common symptoms include high blood pressure; heart problems; strokes; kidney stones; frequent urinary tract infections; pain in the back, side or stomach areas; and blood in urine.
Dialysis and transplant are the only treatments, Egelanian said. She said more than 60 percent of those afflicted will go into kidney failure.
A warning sign can be a family history of kidney problems.
''All my sisters were tested, and they were fine,'' Reichard said. ''I'm concerned about my children right now.''
Reichard said that after she was diagnosed, panic set in initially.
But she found support with a friend, Shelly Koch of Lehighton, whose father has had PKD for 35 years — since he was 17.
''Within the past few months, he started to go into renal failure,'' Koch said. ''My family members and I are going to see if we're a match for him.''
Koch will be a co-coordinator for the three-mile walk.
Egelanian said the PKD Foundation, started in 1982 and based in Kansas City, Mo., has had fundraising walks for the past five years, but never in northeastern Pennsylvania.
''The walks traditionally have been a lot of fun,'' she said. ''What's really, really neat is that there are usually a lot of family teams walking together because it really means a lot to them.''
As she continues her battle against the disease, Reichard said she'll remain upbeat and focus on the task at hand.
''I'm nervous; I don't know what to expect,'' Reichard said about the walk. ''I hope it's a success. … I think between the two of us [herself and Koch], we can do it, but we need volunteers to help us out.''
Registration for the walk will be at 9 a.m. It will start at 10 a.m. at Lehighton Recreation Center on S. Eighth Street, with the entire course in the borough.