Welcome to Kevin's Kidney Brigade! Kevin's Kidney Brigade is a group/cause/people that support me, Kevin, in my fight against Kidney Disease. Few of you know, but for the last 7 years, I have been battling Kidney Disease. Allow me to bore you with the story. Senior Year of High School, I made a decision that would change the rest of my life... I tagged along with my girlfriend and another friend and got a pedicure in downtown Pleasanton. It was closing time and we were closing out the pedicure place, little did we know, I would get an **extra special gift with purchase**. A couple days later I my legs turned into ham hocks and I had a rocking set of tankles (thighs all the way down to the foot). There were large red splotches all over the lower half of my body and it was itchy. I know - everything a 17 year old dreads having. After a second trip to the Emergency Room, a doctor finally put a name to it - Henoch Schonlein Purpura (HSP) which is an inflammation of the blood vessels on the skin. This was the start of my long "medical career." After being shipped around to different doctors, being put on different medications and then finally being told it will go away on its own... I waited. What was supposed to only last 2 months, lasted 2 years! At the beginning it was the worst - the pain and uncomfort was continuous, but it eventually started to subside to long lasting flare ups. Those long lasting flare ups eventually led to shorter flare ups and well you can see where this is going. Two years later I was free of HSP, but the residual effects had already set in. HSP had gone into my internal organs, specifically my kidneys and started another party. This time it was called IgA Nephropathy - essentially IgA protein antibodies deposit in the kidneys and build up in the small blood vessels of the kidney. These blood vessels become inflamed and damaged and eventually die off. The start of Kidney Disease. Once HSP turned on my kidneys more fun started. I got kicked around again to more and more doctors, specialist and everything else medical. Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, Oakland... all over. I had a kidney biopsy to confirm the IgA Nephropathy and that was that. I had to keep an eye on things, but at that point things were still alright. I graduated from Las Positas College and started at UC Davis and life went on. I eventually saw a specialist in Sacramento and he informed me that I had high blood pressure and also revealed the "magic number" to watch out for with the kidney levels. I was still at 55% kidney function at the point so I wasn't worried. I of course declined BP medication because I had it in my head that I could make "lifestyle changes" and it would correct itself. After graduating from UC Davis, I moved back to the Bay Area and got back into my "medical career." I went to my doctor and after running a range of blood tests, he discovered my kidney function had TANKED. In a matter of 11 months my kidney function had dropped from 55% down to 24% - the decline was exacerbated by my unmanaged blood pressure. After seeing some of the same doctors that I had previously seen (and did not like), I found the best Nephrologist anyone could ever ask for – Dr. Sharon Kang at Kaiser Antioch. From there I was able to get my blood pressure under control and really start managing my Kidney Disease. From September 2009 until the present, my kidney function has fluctuated, but more or less it has had a downward trend. When a person’s Kidney Function reaches less than 20%, they are able to put in the Kidney Transplant Waitlist – well I hit that in October of 2009 after starting BP medication that will also help kidney function. After that initial drop, my function actually shot back up to around the high 20’s – 30%. Although I only hit 20% temporarily, it was enough to get my put on the “list” through UC Davis Medical Center. This also enabled me to start the conversation regarding kidney transplant. After initial tests, it ended up that my brother, Wade, and my father, Curtis, were both compatible matches and could potentially donate a kidney – SCORE! Another kidney biopsy down, and more monitoring of my kidneys and that takes us to mid 2012. When a kidney patient hits around 16% function left, and has potential live donors, the testing starts back up. Potential donors go through rigorous testing up at the UCD Med Center – my Dad did the testing first. He unfortunately was ruled out as a candidate to donate a kidney to me because he had kidney stones and it was determined he would need both kidneys later in life. Next up, Wade. All the testing went extremely well for Wade, there was just a couple tests left. My doctors started talking about potentially being able to schedule the transplant surgery towards the end of December – what a Christmas present, a new kidney for me! Well one of those last tests didn’t go so well and just as fast as the hope for a kidney transplant came, it was whisked away. That brings us all up to speed to what I have before me currently and where all of you come in. On January 17th I will be undergoing surgery so I can start dialysis. Dialysis is essentially a way to replicate the filtering that normal functioning kidneys would. Since my kidneys don’t filter out the bad stuff, the dialysis machine will do the work for me. As glamorous as it all sounds, I will be having a tube surgically implanted into my stomach and will have a dialysis solution in my stomach essentially around the clock. Dialysis will continue until I can receive a transplant, either by way of that special “list” I mentioned earlier (which could be another 2-3 years), or until I can receive a kidney from a live donor. This is where you all come in…
I writing this to hopefully raise the seriousness of what a transplant could mean to me. Anyone can be tested to be a potential donor, anyone can help. There are two types of kidney donation; regular live donation, where someone donates a kidney directly to me, and also paired donation, where someone who would like to donate to me, but is not a match, donates to another person, who then has someone that is not a match for them, donates to me. Complicated, but essentially it’s a 4 way trade. A kidney donation could give me a new lease on life and take me off dialysis – an unfortunate wish I have had to make at the young age of 26. If there is anyone that is interested in donating a kidney, PLEASE contact UC Davis Medical Center. The initial screening is done over the phone and then if you get the initial OK there is some paperwork to fill out and send in. My insurance pays for everything, so you’re not left with some ridiculous medical bill after helping a friend. An upside to is the time off from work! Recovery from the surgery is typically 3 weeks – sure its not a glamorous vacation, but it is a break from everything! Of course this isn’t for everyone, and don’t feel like this is something you have to do. Not everyone will be comfortable putting themselves out there like that – trust me I understand. My hope is that there is at least someone out there that has the strength and courage to go through with getting tested and is actually willing to donate a kidney. I will actually be getting married in June 2013 to that same lovely girl that took me to get that pedicure that sparked all of this. We would of course love to start our life together with me having a new kidney and being as healthy as possible. Please, contact UC Davis Transplant Center to get more information. I have attached a brochure from UC Davis that gives a brief overview of donation. The link below will give you access to UC Davis’ transplant website. http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/transplant/bealivingdonor/get_started.html
For more information on Kidney Disease, visit the National Kidney Foundation’s website. http://www.kidney.org/index.cfm
For more information on Peritoneal Dialysis, visit this website. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/peritoneal.cfm
If you would like to pass this on to anyone you believe would be able to help, we would greatly appreciate it. The more people aware of Kevin’s situation, the better off he is with hopefully receiving a kidney. You can contact me if you have any questions. Kevin’s Email – boggsk@gmail.com
I want to thank everyone for all of the love and support. All of you are the reason I have been able to keep my positive attitude through all of this and will continue to get through whatever lies ahead. Love,
Kevin Boggs
FAST FACTS ABOUT KIDNEY DISEASE
• Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the United States, causing more deaths than breast cancer or prostate cancer each year.
• 26 million Americans have kidney disease and most don't know it.
• 73 million Americans are at risk for kidney disease due to diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease.
• Early detection and proper treatment can slow or prevent the progress of kidney disease. Keeping blood pressure and blood sugar under control can prevent kidney disease.
• More than 415,000 people in the United States depend on dialysis treatment to survive.
• Of the over 116,000 Americans on the national organ transplant waitlist, more than 94,000 await a life-saving kidney.
• Last year, an average of 13 people died each day while waiting for a kidney transplant.
