• 1Intro to Chronic Kidney Disease (VIDEO)
  • 2Anemia and Chronic Kidney Disease
  • 3Watch a Kidney Transplant
  • 4When Kidneys Decline
  • 5Filtration Units
  • 6Balancing Act
  • 7The Source of Vitality
  • 8What Causes CKD?
  • 9Risk Factors
  • 10Diabetes and Hypertension: Causes of CKD
  • 11Anemia, CKD, and Heart Disease
  • 12Symptoms of CKD
  • 13Diagnosing CKD
  • 14Taking Action
  • 15Food for CKD
  • 16Just Enough to Drink
  • 17Healthy Behavior
  • 18A Miracle of Medicine: Kidney Dialysis and Transplant
  • 19To Your Health: A New Beginning
CHAPTER 19

To Your Health: A New Beginning

PART 1

Kent Moody’s Story

Every scar tells a story, and the neat suture running along Kent Moody’s abdomen is no exception. After learning that her father needed a new kidney, and that a male’s kidney would be ideal, Moody’s daughter Christie asked her husband Adam to get tested to see if he might be a good match. READ MORE

“It wasn’t a perfect match, but it was the next thing to it,” says Moody. “We didn’t know they went to get tested, but they came one evening and said that Adam would like to donate his kidney. I’m very grateful. It’s just so great that it overwhelms you in every which way.” LESS
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PART 2

The Gift

Adam turned out to be an ideal donor—young, healthy, and willing to give his father-in-law a remarkable gift. With that gift, Moody now has three kidneys. “I have two that aren’t too good, and I have one that is a super kidney,” he says. The new organ is making a huge difference in Moody’s life. His blood sugars and blood pressure have dropped significantly, and most remarkably, just 3 weeks following the surgery, he shed about 30 lbs of water weight, all excess fluid that should have been filtered out by his kidneys. “I could tell in the hospital that my energy level was going up,” he says. “It just turned me around so much that there’s no comparison between what I thought would happen and what has happened and how quickly it happened.” READ MORE

Moody’s pill count has dropped too, although he has had to add medication to help him to accept Adam’s kidney and not reject the organ. Little by little, Moody’s body is coming back into balance, back to a healthier state in which his blood counts are closer to normal, and his blood pressure and blood sugar levels are under control. He watches what he eats, avoiding fried foods and salt, but he is easing back into his active lifestyle. “I’m checking the fields and the grain elevators, but I take it easy. It’s the chance of a lifetime and I don’t want to mess it up.”

(From The Invision Guide to Lifeblood by Alexander Tsiaris) LESS
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