These two photos pretty much sum up my view about life while on dialysis compared to post transplant. I was a different person on dialysis. I felt strongly about the fact that my freedom and overall life was being stripped away from me. I no longer had my classroom teaching career and I could barely maintain regular tutoring hours for income. I lost a tremendous amount of weight from my already small frame because of the restricting renal diet and the process of dialysis. I was extremely depressed as I isolated myself from friends and social situations for fear of getting hurt. The relations ..read more

You know when you go to the doctor, they always take your blood pressure, right? It is the black and blue thing that wraps around your arm and squeezes really tight. It is important to track this number often and early in life. My blood pressure was really high, but I always brushed it off as White Coat Syndrome (fear of doctors.) I never had a doctor or nurse sit me down for a few minutes to relax then retest it. They just believed me that is was a fear of their office or the doctor. Apparently this was not the case for me. In 2015, I went to the emergency room for a stomach issue. My blood p ..read more

WHAT GET LOUD FOR KIDNEYS IS We are more than a social media page. We are a social movement that creates and inspires change. Much needed change surrounding the topics of kidney disease awareness and prevention, kidney transplant and donation. We care about the people affected by kidney disease and those connected to donation because their stories are real. Their stories have the potential to inspire, empower and ultimately create much needed change. We recognize that we are stronger together and people must come first if we are going to make progress. Get Loud For Kidneys encourages others to ..read more

"The search for identity involves the establishment of a meaningful self-concept in which the past, present, and future are brought together to form a unified whole." - Erik Erikson Living with chronic kidney disease, going through dialysis and receiving a transplant is a very intense life changing experience. The journey is different for everyone, however, it is safe to say that for many, life is looked at differently afterwards and one's identity is altered in the process. I was diagnosed with kidney failure caused by Lupus and immediately put on dialysis at the age of 12. At this time I was ..read more

Theodore Roosevelt once said “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” These powerful words ring true when I think of the process of living kidney donation. The day I decided I would donate one of my kidneys, which was far before I actually was even cleared to donate, I knew I was volunteering myself to go through an extremely difficult process.  What I learned throughout the process of being t ..read more

For me, dialysis was something that totally took over my life and turned it upside down. It forced me to drop my board exams. Like, can you imagine? One more step and I would have been out of my school life, but my kidneys decided that okay this is the right time. We should leave. Just one month before my exams.  In India, especially where I live, people think - Okay he/she has kidney failure. They will go for dialysis and then maybe get a transplant. To them, only the upper layer is visible and not the scar and pain deep down. Maybe that is why there's no rush regarding awareness about t ..read more

Growing up in a South Asian household, health was of great importance. You were always told to drink your milk for strong bones and finish your vegetable curry (not boring old veggies, but a heart warming vegetable curry). Coming from a Muslim background, I was taught that you must respect your body and stay away from all things that could harm your body such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or taking drugs. So being healthy and respecting your body was at the forefront of my values. In most South Asian cultures (yes we have many sub-cultures within South Asia), being young and ill is ..read more

If we’re being honest, I think patience has a different meaning for everyone but it affects us all. Whether you are waiting for the delayed subway in New York City only to find it crowded, with no room to hop on when it arrives to the station, or getting stuck in meetings all day and you haven’t eaten all day so the "hangry" sets in, or when you want to go to the gym but your body begs you to rest. Or, if you’re anything like me, you lose it in all three scenarios.   I have to incorporate the practice of patience like my daily medicine for my 6 month old kidney. It’s a chore and it never ..read more

What is compassion and altruism? On December 4th, news of what has become one of the largest fires that Southern California has seen broke out. As of the 11th, the Thomas Fire has grown to over 230,000 acres, currently at the 5th largest fire in California history, leaving many people homeless. It is truly one of the most devastating things I've experienced. However, it's in horrific events such as this that we see people come together to help family, friends, neighbors and even strangers in need. The love and support toward those who have lost their homes is truly heartwarming and is one of t ..read more

Empathy is something I have grown more and more interested in over the last year. After having your life turned upside down due to dialysis, searching for a donor, then getting a transplant, your views about the world and life change a bit. At least they did for me. When I was in the depths of kidney failure, living life tethered to a dialysis machine, I wouldn't say that I was tapped into any feelings of empathy. Rather, at times it was quite the opposite. I was in full survival mode and could absolutely only think about myself, the hell I was going through and how to get out of it. Now that ..read more