Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has no cure. When your kidneys fail, lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant is necessary to survive.
Melissia Baker was diagnosed with kidney disease at age 36. In 2005, she had a kidney transplant. During that time, Melissia was able to work full time. But when her transplanted kidney stopped working, Melissia had to begin dialysis.
Hemodialysis, the treatment option that Melissia chose, uses a machine to clean your blood. It does some of the work that your kidneys do when they are healthy. To keep Melissia's kidney function in a healthy range, she goes to her dialysis center three times a week for six hours at a time.
"Prior to going on dialysis, I was working, and I had a pretty good career," she shares. "But then once I went on dialysis, all of that had to stop.
"I wasn't able to work anymore because my job was very demanding and dialysis was three nights a week. So it definitely created a financial hardship for me."
Thankfully, the American Kidney Fund (AKF) has been able to help Melissia through this difficult time by covering her insurance premiums.
So many more people like Melissia face hardships because of their CKD treatment. That's why AKF offers support for every stage of their journey, from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. But we need help from friends like you to make this possible.
Learn more about the kidney disease journey below.
Make a donation to help AKF stand with kidney patients in all stages of their journey. Your support will help:
30 million Americans live with chronic kidney disease. These people need others to stand with them to help ensure that they have access to care and the promise of better treatment options in the future.
AKF is a strong and independent voice to increase awareness of kidney disease and advocate for policies that improve access to health care and that strengthen quality of care for individuals with kidney disease. But we need people like you to stand with us.
Learning the risk factors and signs of kidney disease can help those at risk detect the disease or slow its progression.
AKF provides free educational resources and free kidney health screenings. We also support clinical research that focuses on improving the lives of kidney patients. In addition, we are building a network of Kidney Health Coaches who can reach out to their communities to empower those at risk for kidney disease to prevent it.
© 2018 American Kidney Fund, Inc. All rights reserved.
The American Kidney Fund is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIN: 23-7124261.
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