Giving to the Future
My name is Phillip Minnich, and I am a 25 year old transplant patient with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
When I was 14, I was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome, caused by Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The disease progressed until, in 2009, at age 21, I officially fell into ESRD, and needed dialysis to sustain my life. On May 29th, 2013, I received a kidney from an incredibly brave and selfless young lady named Jess.
I graduated from Moravian College with a degree in Music Education. I finished both my final year as an undergrad, and my full-time student teaching, while on dialysis. I am currently looking to expand my education certification into the area of health education, as I feel that, if I am to make the greatest impact in life, it is through combining my love for education with the life experiences that have served as both a curse, and as an opportunity.
I also marched with the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps for four years: 2006-2008 (trumpet), and 2010 (mellophone). I also served on membership staff in 2011. Marching the 2010 season while doing dialysis is one of my greatest accomplishments. I am hoping to make the 2014 season my final season, as a thank you for everything that the corps has done for me; it was through the Buccaneers that, in 2012, I met Jess.
You never realize how important your kidneys are until they are gone. Unfortunately, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a very difficult disease to recognize, especially early on, as the more advanced symptoms typically do not appear until severe damage has been done to the kidneys, and renal replacement therapy (RRT) is all but a certainty. However, if CKD is caught early, then the effects of it can be slowed, or even halted, and ESRD can potentially be avoided altogether.
More than 31 million Americans either have or are at risk for CKD, and unfortunately, that number will only rise in the future. Hypertension and diabetes are the cause of two out of every three instances of CKD, and both hypertension and diabetes are inextricably linked to obesity. As America's obesity rates rise, so will its rates of CKD. If left untreated, CKD can ultimately progress to kidney failure. The only treatment options available for people with kidney failure are hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or a kidney transplant. At this time, there are nearly 600,000 Americans living with kidney failure, and nearly 500,000 receive life-saving dialysis treatments.
With your generous gift, the DPC Education Center (an affiliate organization of Dialysis Patient Citizens) will be able to produce industry leading classes, create one-of-a-kind tools, and provide world class patient-centered research.
If you do not have CKD, it is, unfortunately, very likely that you know someone who does. Kidney disease does not discriminate. It can attack anyone of any age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. In a very real sense, it is an invisible disability. But while the disease itself can be invisible, the people are not. They are your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors. But all of us together can make a difference.
Thank you.
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