By Jerome A. Bailey

“No excuses!” That’s the motto Betty Bennett has adopted for her life. The Aurora, Colo., grandmother says she is living life to the fullest – despite her chronic kidney disease (CKD) diagnosis. Betty, a retired nurse who travels extensively with her husband, still keeps a busy schedule volunteering much of her time with organizing one of Denver’s biggest health fairs, spending time with her granddaughter, Hallie, and her favorite hobbies – scrap booking and needle work.

Betty’s family doctor first suspected something was wrong with her kidney function right before Christmas in 2007 during a routine physical. He advised her to go see a nephrologist immediately. “But I asked him could this wait until after the holidays because I had so much to do.” According to Betty, “I didn’t have time for lab work.”

Betty did wait until after the holidays. And that’s when her primary doctor’s suspicions were confirmed by a nephrologist. The diagnosis - glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis is a type of kidney disease caused by inflammation of the internal kidney structures, which help filter waste and fluids from the blood.

“I was in disbelief – like maybe the lab made a mistake,” said Betty. “But the doctor sat my husband and me down for an hour that day to explain what the diagnosis meant. He assured us this was not a death sentence.”

There is no history of kidney disease in Betty’s family. She did not suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes –the leading causes of kidney disease. By all accounts, she was a healthy woman. Betty’s doctors believe they missed a chance at catching the kidney disease earlier in her life. In the years prior to the kidney disease diagnosis, Betty developed pneumonia on four different occasions. During one of those pneumonia bouts, she developed a bi-lateral pulmonary infusion. This can cause too much fluid to collect in the area that holds the lungs – it is commonly known as “water on the lungs.” Betty’s doctor believes the pulmonary infusion was a result of CKD.

After that meeting with her nephrologist, Betty and her husband, Charlie, went to work – both on a mission to learn as much as they could about kidney disease. Betty dug through her old nursing books and Charlie – a self described Internet wiz, turned to the World Wide Web. They found lots of information. “However, the more I read, the more confused I got. Articles some times just give you little pieces. They don’t give you the whole picture.”

So Betty made a decision – no more obsessing over her CKD diagnosis. She would learn what she could to stay on top of her health, but she would not let kidney disease dictate her life. And that’s exactly what she did. She hired a personal trainer to teach her proper exercise techniques. Exercise, along with changing her diet has helped her lose more than 50 pounds. Just this summer, Betty and her husband traveled through Europe for two weeks. Currently she is training for a half marathon for an event that will raise awareness about kidney disease.

“Right after my diagnosis, I did not want to do anything. I didn’t want to leave the house. I tried to isolate myself. My husband helped me get over the shock during those first few months. He said we’d get through this. We’ve gotten through many other things. We can still vacation and do what we want.”

Though Betty has stopped obsessing over her kidney disease, she is still mindful of the road ahead. Her eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) is now 26. She is watched closely by her nephrologist and as soon as she qualifies, she will be placed on the transplant waiting list. Betty has also talked to family members about being possible donors. And this summer she attended the AAKP National Convention where she says she learned a great deal about kidney disease and treatment options. “The Convention was a great opportunity to learn about all my options including transplantation, dialysis – home and in-center, and meet new friends. I try not to think about dialysis, but I know what my options are should it come to that. And I think everyone should educate themselves about all their therapy options.”

According to Betty, “Chronic kidney disease is a serious condition, but it’s not going to stop me from enjoying life. There are no excuses!”

Jerome A. Bailey is the Communications Manager for the American Association of Kidney Patients and Editor of Kidney Beginnings: The Magazine.

This article originally appeared in the December 2009 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Magazine.

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