redefining job dedication

Aside from the fact that Jeanne has PKD, one of the main reasons I have been such a strong supporter of the PKD Foundation is that I have found the people who work at the Foundation to be very passionate about their work. You can tell that working at the PKD Foundation is more than just a job for them - they are truly partners in the drive to cure PKD.

Now Leigh Reynolds, who is the Senior Manager of the Walk for PKD at the PKD Foundation, has taken this passion to an even higher level. Read this story and watch the video to see what I mean.

bone marrow and kidney transplant article in Boston Globe

I found this one really interesting. It goes into a good amount of depth on the bone marrow and kidney transplant procedures being done at Mass General over the past several years.

New England Journal of Medicine article

HeatherT has found some information from the New England Journal of Medicine related to bone marrow injections in conjunction with kidney transplants.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital's stem cell study

A couple of weeks ago, I made a post on transplanting stem cells along with a kidney. My sister helped me track down a little more information, but I found myself still with a lot of questions. Today, thanks to a press release on Northwestern Memorial Hospital's website, I think I have a much better idea of what this is all about. It sounds like it is still pretty experimental, and very much limited to "perfect match" sorts of kidney transplants right now, but if this ends up being successful, and eventually more broadly available to "less than perfect match" transplants, this would be a HUGE breakthrough. Being able to receive a kidney transplant without having to stay on immunosupressive drugs would greatly improve the quality of life for transplant recipients.

PKD discussed on Dr. Phil

I saw this post on ThirtyWhat's blog today, but too late to set the DVR. Apparantly, Polycystic Kidney Disease was discussed on the Dr. Phil show today. Not having gotten a chance to see it, I can't really comment any more than that, but I did find a message board related to today's episode. Included on the board are quite a number of personal stories related to dealing with PKD. I found this one by Karen in NJ especially touching.

If anyone coming across this blog happened to see the episode, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I figure any mention of PKD on a show like Dr. Phil has to be a good thing.

NYC Metropolitan Area ADPKD/ARPKD Education & Awareness Seminar

The NYC Metropolitan Area ADPKD/ARPKD Education & Awareness Seminar will be held on Saturday, March 15 at the NYU Medical Center 550 First Avenue, between 30th and 33rd streets in Manhattan. The program runs from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. The cost is $10/person and includes lunch.

Scheduled topics include: ADPKD, ARPKD, Research News, PKD & Your Diet, and Employment and Insurance Issues for People with Genetic Illnesses

For more info, see the Hudson Valley PKD Chapter Home page or view the event flyer.

We all need somebody to lean on

The snowman we built on Monday, looked like this on Thursday:

and like this Saturday morning.