I have had kidney disease from an early age. However they only failed 2.5 years ago. While they were failing I was up in the high Alps, possibly the first person to go up and over a 4000m peak, Piz Bernina with severe kidney failure. Cramps, gout, fatigue, these were constants of the struggle.
After my kidneys failed I went on dialysis. For 10 months I connected myself to fluids. I couldn't eat properly. I couldn't even drink. The fluid I took in had no exit. My body was slowly degenerating, wasting away. I was determined from the get go that I would try my hardest to help find a solution.
I was an engineer, despite this I applied to all the medical centers in the country for a position, not a paid position, just any. The UMC and the Artificial Kidney Innovation Lab gave me this opportunity. So here I am, working to develop an artificial implantable kidney, to end dialysis.
Funding for this is slow in coming, we need change and we needed it half a century ago. Dialysis is an ancient technology that is stagnant. Hence the reason for the fundraiser. But its more than just the funds, its the awareness. When my kidneys failed my friend asked me, but you have two right? The essential function and need for these organs is not known. More importantly, dialysis is seen as a solution. The aim of this campaign is to shift that perspective.
The life of a donor organ is uncertain. I and other kidney patients like me are in a Climb Against Time.
