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September 17, 2013
Greetings! 

We submitted our comments to Congress about the cuts to Medicare, and visited our representatives on "the hill" to drive our message further. We now wait and see what Medicare will do with the proposed cuts. While we wait, we stay positive and continue with our mission of patients helping patients. Congratulations to the 2013 RSN Annual Essay Contest winners!
Have You Heard the Latest on KidneyTalk?
 
So You're Thinking About a Kidney Transplant

How often does the doctor become the patient? Unfortunately, Mark Wedel, MD, like the protagonist in the movie "The Doctor," had to live this transformation. When he was told that his kidneys were failing and that he needed a transplant, Dr. Wedel had no idea where to begin, what to do, or what to ask. After carefully researching his options, he decided to write a book to better explain to other patients and health care professionals what they need to know to prepare. Lori and Dr. Wedel go though many of the things you need to understand before you get a transplant. Listen Now 

2013 Annual Essay Contest Winners
cheerleader.jpg Congratulations Winning Authors!
The theme this year was "Provide An Example Of How You Became An Active Participant In Your Care", and all of the winning essays did just that.

1st Place - "The Desperate Truth-Seeker" by Risa Simon of Scottsdale, Arizona. Risa's first place essay describes her journey from learning she has inherited the illness that claimed the lives of her father and grandmother to making the decision to learn as much as she could about kidney disease and not wait until she was "sick enough" for treatment.

2nd Place - "The Black Binder" by Mary Wu of Ossining, New York. The transition from being a child-patient to becoming an adult, fully responsible for her own care, is the subject of Mary Wu's second-place essay. The tool she used to finally get organized and show the medical professionals that she was now in charge of her own healthcare and not her father, was a black binder, complete with tabs and dividers.

We had a 3rd Place Tie and they were:

"Old-Fashioned Self-Discipline" by Susan Decuir of Carollton, Texas. Finding herself with new diet restrictions due to a decrease in kidney function, this strong-willed grandmother stayed strong. Susan's essay describes how she talked herself into sticking with the challenging exercise routine and restrictive diet her doctor recommended so that she could be ready for the future kidney transplant and enjoy her grandchildren for years to come.

 

"A Trip to the Castle" by Elizabeth Usher of Barboursville, West Virginia. Elizabeth's essay, in the form of a fairy tale, tells the story of a maiden who learns that she must be the heroine of her own story by taking charge and making the right decisions to stay as healthy as possible.

The winning essays can be viewed HERE.

Download the Press Release.

Advocates in Action
CMS' proposed rule to cut Medicare payment for dialysis care bad for patients  
By LaVarne Burton, Hrant Jamgochian, Bruce Skyer and Lori Hartwell
"If reimbursement is cut as proposed, many dialysis facilities more than likely will be forced to reduce staff, cut facility hours, or both. Programs such as nocturnal dialysis offerings - which are helpful for those with 9-to-5 jobs - could be eliminated..." Read Article on The Hill    
Some of our advocates in DC last week. 
Left to right: Dean Hartwell, Wendy Rodgers, Congressman 
Adam Schiff, Bob Klein and Dharshini Mahadevan
RSN speaking up for people with kidney disease in Washington DC. Our advocates teamed up with other patient groups from around the country last week to talk to state representatives about why we to stop the proposed cuts from taking place.

Learn more about this issue
HERE.
 

 

I want to thank all the amazing authors who participated in this year's essay contest. It has been amazing to read all the great essays received over the Summer. Fall is right around the corner on September 22 and I am looking forward to the cool days ahead. Enjoy! 
   

 

Sincerely,

Lori Hartwell
President and Founder
Renal Support Network 
An illness is too demanding if you don't have hope!
www.RSNhope.org