Love thy Kidneys ..

I looked across my bed and there's this very young lady with a name so "heavenly", only 18 - looking so joyful despite the rocky path she has been through since she was 16.

Then, there's this young 16 year old girl, sweet like an angel, pretty big eyes who kept saying she feels pregnant with 1.5 litres of water that she needs to "change" like every four hours or so.

Not forgetting, a lady, one year younger than me, who has been on blood dialysis for the past three years - she looks sad, frustrated - her "smile" is just not there anymore.

An old lady on the bed besides me struggles with phlegm the whole night long, she is only 61 but she looks at least 10 years older. She is on dialysis but, her heart is weak and she may not make it.

How can I forget the "grown" baby - 60++ year old man, who sings throughout the day and night, sometimes screaming in pain, hungry, passing cute remarks - then one day, he became very quiet, the singing stopped, he just sleeps - I do hope he is "okay" ...

Another elderly man who couldn't sleep because the "rashes" on swollen legs drives him mad, he can't even cover himself in blanket as it hurts so bad.

Knowledge is POWER - Kidney disease are normally "silent" and when symptoms start to show, it can already be life-threatening.

CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) symptoms as common as they may sound are signals not to be ignored :-

•Fatigue and weakness (from anemia or accumulation of waste products in the body)
•Loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting
•Need to urinate frequently, especially at night
•Swelling of the legs and puffiness around the eyes (fluid retention)
•Itching, easy bruising, and pale skin (from anemia)
•Headaches, numbness in the feet or hands (peripheral neuropathy), disturbed sleep, altered mental status (encephalopathy from the accumulation of waste products or uremic poisons), and restless legs syndrome
•High blood pressure, chest pain due to pericarditis (inflammation around the heart)
•Shortness of breath from fluid in lungs
•Bleeding (poor blood clotting)
•Bone pain and fractures
•Decreased sexual interest and erectile dysfunction

(Refer more @ http://www.emedicinehealth.com/chronic_kidney_disease/page4_em.htm )

Take charge of your health, do at least once-a-year lab screening that includes liver, kidney, blood, diabetes screen, profile and etc..

To those rich rich tai-tais, Tan Sris, Puan Sris, Datuk K & Siti, paris-hilton wannabe before you spend another couple of thousands on that "new LV" handbags - pls, spare a thought for those struggling with kidney failure - it cost a subsidised RM 150 per dialysis a person, 3 times a week just to be able to be with ones they love.

Donate, big, small, heavy, light to :- National Kidney Foundation

World Kidney Day- 11 Mar 2010 !