For decades, I worked as a teacher and mentor to students I loved. Then suddenly, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. Now, I’m a dialysis patient who relies on an exhausting treatment to survive. I was first diagnosed with kidney disease in 2016 after a family history of high blood pressure caught up with me. I came off dialysis for a few years after weight loss surgery, but in 2023, my kidneys failed again. I had to stop working, because of having too many doctor's appointments and too many sick days. I lost my private insurance, and Medicaid turned me [...]

I’ve lived with kidney failure since birth. After several transplants, I’ve now been on dialysis for 36 years, which is the only treatment besides a transplant for kidney failure. It’s not something you can skip. It’s a life-or-death treatment. That’s why I’m urging Congress to pass the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. This H.R. 2199 bill would ensure new dialysis patients can keep their private insurance for 30 months, a protection we used to have until a recent Supreme Court decision determined what health care we can receive. Private insurance gives patients better options, essential in those initial months [...]

I have end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. My journey began after a serious accident at age 12 caused my kidneys to fail. My mother selflessly donated one of her kidneys, which lasted about eight years. At 20, my body began rejecting the transplant, and I had to start dialysis—a taxing but life-saving treatment done three times a week to filter the blood. The transition was overwhelming. I often rode a bus to San Francisco at 6 a.m. and returned home at midnight. Like many others, I had to adjust to a difficult new normal. After 16 years on [...]

I was diagnosed with kidney failure at 34. I lacked formal education about the disease, and within a year I began losing my sight to diabetic retinopathy. I’m now legally blind and depend on others for daily tasks. It’s been a difficult journey, but I’ve grown as a person throughout it. Patients like me shouldn’t have to worry about finances. I’m lucky enough to afford dialysis, a frequent treatment that filters my blood since my kidneys can’t, since it’s covered by Medicare and charitable donations. I remember paying out of pocket for a few months at the beginning of my [...]