NW16 8/14+ Donate Life NW Volunteers

Donate Life Northwest is dedicated to helping transplant candidates maintain hope while waiting for an available matching kidney.  They offer training to volunteers for various situations.  Their upcoming training, volunteering, and celebration schedule includes:

• August 14, 2018 – School Speaker training in Portland OR
• August 15, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Bend OR
• August 16, 2018 – School Speaker training in Portland OR
• September 4, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Portland OR
• September 8, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Vancouver WA
• September 8, 2018 – Donor Family Picnic in Salem OR
• September 13, 2018 – School Speaker training in Eugene OR
• September 13, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Eugene OR
• September 16, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Portland OR
• September 23, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Portland OR
• November 7, 2018 – Lifesavers Breakfast

For more details, see https://mailchi.mp/donatelifenw.org/sharing-hope-this-summer.  This web page also introduces their new Latino Outreach Coordinator, Donor stories in English and Spanish, winners of their recent raffle, and information on including Donate Life Northwest in your estate, insurance, or financial plans.

My Choice, Home Dialysis Online

The video My Choice, Home Dialysis has been placed on YouTube where it can be accessed easily.  It features patients describing the advantages of home dialysis in their own words.  Find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZquRiZ0RwSU.  For subtitles:

• Click on the gear symbol (“Settings,” in the lower right)
  • Click on “Subtitles/CC(2)   Off >”
  • Click on “Spanish – Default” or “English – Default”

YouTube can also translate subtitles into more than a hundred additional languages.

HDC Fluid Restriction Calculator

Home Dialysis Central has published a Dialysis Fluid Restriction Calculator to answer the question, “How much can I drink between dialysis sessions?” individualized for each patient.  For the Calculator and discussion, see https://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/265-a-new-dialysis-fluid-restriction-calculator.

RSN Audio on Living Full Life 2

The Renal Support Network has published Part Two of Bill Peckham’s audio on Living the Fullest Life Possible with Kidney Disease.  Find it at https://www.rsnhope.org/kidneytalk/living-the-fullest-life-possible-with-kidney-disease-part-two/.  If you missed Part One, see https://nwrnbulletins.wordpress.com/2018/06/22/rsn-audio-on-living-full-life/.

RSN Audio on Living Full Life

The Renal Support Network has published an audio presentation titled Living the Fullest Life Possible with Kidney Disease – Part One, featuring long-time Northwest dialysis patient and activist Bill Peckham sharing tips on getting the most out of life despite being on dialysis for twenty eight years.  For example, Bill once took his portable dialysis machine with him down the Grand Canyon!  Find that story at http://www.dciinc.org/newsroom/a-dialysis-patients-tale-rafting-the-grand-canyon/, and find Part One of the RSN audio at https://www.rsnhope.org/kidneytalk/living-the-fullest-life-possible-with-kidney-disease-part-one/.

Preventing Organ Stunning

Home Dialysis Central has published a summary of “organ stunning,” where dialysis removes too much water, or removes it too quickly, and your internal organs are shocked.  This can damage your organs, and the damage may be cumulative.  The HDC article covers the causes and processes of organ stunning, and most important, describes how you can avoid it.  Find the article at https://homedialysis.org/life-at-home/articles/organ-stunning-on-hemodialysis-what-is-it-and-what-can-you-do.

Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program

CMS has updated its web page on the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program Expanded Model.  Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney disease, and this Medicare/CDC Program has been shown to reduce by up to 70% the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes itself.  Find the web page at https://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/medicare-diabetes-prevention-program/.