AAKP presented Shad Ireland with the AAKP Patient Comeback of the Year Award, Friday, Aug. 29 during the 35th Annual AAKP Convention. The AAKP Patient Comeback of the Year Award is presented to a kidney patient who has overcome major obstacles and displayed extraordinary courage and determination to take charge of his/her life and resume normal productive living. 
 
Ireland has been a dialysis patient for more than five years. In 2004, he became the first dialysis patient to compete and complete an Ironman® triathlon, one of the most grueling events in sports. Ireland continues to compete in triathlons and through his foundation, the Shad Ireland Foundation and Team Ireland, he travels the country encouraging kidney patients to be active participants in their healthcare.
 
Ireland also particpated in the Get Moving! The Importance of Exercise educational session, where he spoke to patients about how exercise changed his life. He discussed how the majority of kidney patients benefit greatly from a fitness routine and how to start exercising safely.

This article originally appeared in the September 2008 issue of Renal Flash.