“What an amazing event!” That was the sentiment from many of the first time attendees at the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) 36th Annual Convention. Nearly 200 patients, family members, renal professionals and friends of the kidney community joined AAKP for the meeting. Participants enjoyed three days of educational sessions, social events and camaraderie as people from across the country shared their story of survival and perseverance despite their kidney disease diagnosis.
The 2009 AAKP Convention kicked off with the First Time Attendee Luncheon – designed to help first time Convention attendees gain the most from their Convention experience. AAKP President Roberta Wager, RN, MSN, welcomed the attendees, and patients who had attended past AAKP Conventions shared experiences about their first Convention. Throughout the weekend participants attended educational sessions which covered topics on chronic kidney disease (CKD), dialysis, home dialysis options, transplantation, depression and diet. The sessions were led by health care professionals from across the country.
“We received great feedback regarding the educational sessions from patients,” stated Wager. “Several attendees told me they received valuable information that they plan on taking back to their hometown and sharing with their family, friends and fellow kidney patients.”
Patients also had a chance to visit 25 exhibit booths in the Exhibit Hall. Renal related companies from across the country shared with patients the latest technology and innovations in kidney care.
There were plenty of fun social events. Betty Rinaldi from Tampa, Fla., won the Best Costume Contest during the Friday night Welcoming Ceremonies. And AAKP recognized several patients and organizations that have made significant contributions to the kidney community over the past year. Nominations were received from across the country from kidney patients and health care professionals. The awards were presented during the Annual Banquet and Award Ceremony. Winners included:
• Bob Abbott, Pine Bluff, AR – Community Achievement Award
• John Aragon, Albuquerque, NM – Patient Comeback of the Year Award
• Walter Bender, MD; Kansas City, MO – Peter Lundin, MD Award
• Terry Butcher, U.S. Virgin Islands – Caregiver of the Year Award
• Tejas Desi, MD; Greenville, NC – Maureen Lundin aakpRENALIFE Award
• Sam Pederson, Seattle, WA – AAKP Volunteer of the Year Award
• Betty Rinaldi, Tampa, FL – Josephine Berman Award
• Roberta Wager, RN, MSN; San Antonio, TX - Samuel Orenstein Award
• Joseph White, Potomac, MD (Posthumously) – Kris Robinson Memorial Award
• Tampa Bay Kidney Community, Tampa, FL – Support Group of the Year Award
• ESRD Network 8 (Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee) – Dominick Gentile Award
“It was an honor to recognize patients and organizations who have contributed to the renal community,” said AAKP Executive Director Kim Buettner. “Their work on behalf of kidney patients and their passion for all those affected by kidney disease is commended and should be recognized.”
To see pictures from the 2009 AAKP National Convention, please visit www.aakp.org/events/convention/2009/Convention-Memories.
AAKP is pleased to announce the 2010 AAKP Convention will be held in Tampa, Fla. Visit the AAKP Web site, www.aakp.org, for more details or call 1-800-749-2257.
During the Saturday Night Award’s Banquet, there was a special presentation recognizing the long term efforts of two incredible people who impacted AAKP’s future. Joseph D. White (1944-2009), an AAKP Board member and previous President for the Association, and Kris Robinson (1964-2009), the previous Executive Director who served AAKP for 18 years. The presentation is available to view by visiting the AAKP Web site, www.aakp.org/events/Convention/2009.
During the AAKP Convention, attendee Lataisha Nicole from West Palm Beach, Fla., wrote and presented a poem about her first Convention experience. The Editors of aakpRENALIFE would like to share it with you.
Broken, by Lataisha Nicole
And the story goes like this…
A round table, 10 faces
From 10 different places
Brought together by one common denominator
Kidney failure
Either someone has kidney failure
Or someone loves someone who does
There is nothing special about disease
People are afflicted everyday in
every part of the region
Death is not uncommon
People die everyday
However this poem is not about them
Those people do not sit at this table with me
I am surrounded by an air of hope
That speaks…this is my bump in the road
These people acknowledge
that they are not special
Because their kidneys have failed them
Rather they are special
Because...
They have chosen to move
forward in spite of……
The vomiting, the diarrhea, the sleepless nights
The steroids, loss of hair…loss of friends
They are finding the normalcy in their lives
Looking toward a future full of hopefulness
And gratitude for life
I did not meet any victims on my journey here
I know not of those defeated by the ills
Of life that sneak up and often times
breaks us in so many pieces
That the real person we are
inside…is unrecognized
No these people were different
Standing in front of me with one leg
Professing how blessed he was
Yes, hope is not just a feeling
Like that of a child
That hopes mommy comes home
with something shiny
Or something sweet
No, hope is moving forward when
there is no sign of light or life
It’s faith that everything will be,
just as it will be
That one foot in front of the
other means survival
Surely tomorrow will come to find
That only things…
Can truly be
Broken
Lataisha Nicole is a writer, artist and community activist from West Palm Beach, Fla. Her mother has been an in-center hemodialysis patient for the past eight years.
This article originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of aakpRENALIFE.
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