By Sheldon Spackman

Funding Research

Innisfail family among hundreds taking part in Kidney March

Sep 5, 2019 | 11:35 AM

It’s described as the largest walk of its kind in the fight against kidney disease and supporting organ donations.

The 10^th annual Kidney March runs Sept. 6-8, spanning 100km from K-Country to Calgary and packing in three days of adventure, fun and solidarity, all for a cause that impacts 3.5 million Canadians with chronic kidney disease.

Tina Kovacs of Innisfail is one of over a dozen participants from central Alberta taking part in this year’s march, and says it’s an event she’s been involved with for nine years now.

“My son had kidney disease and he had his transplant the year they had their first Kidney March, so it’s something that is near and dear to our hearts,” she explains.

Kovacs’ says her son Taran was diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of nine and a half.

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“He was a healthy child up until then when his kidneys just stopped working,” she recalls. “We had no indication that there was anything wrong. In our family we have no history of kidney disease whatsoever, so it was quite a shock.”

Kovacs says it began when Taran started vomiting every morning for a couple of weeks.

“We didn’t think anything of it, it was the end of school year, we were doing lacrosse, so we just thought excitement and everything else like that,” explains Kovacs. “Then one day he was at his friends and he started throwing up. So we thought he had the flu.”

After doctors realized Taran had kidney disease, Kovacs says she donated one of her kidneys to Taran after his first transplant failed.

“He’s had two transplants,” says Kovacs. “The first one in 2009 failed within 24 hours, he had developed a blood clot. Then the second one in 2010, I donated a kidney to him and he’s doing good now but you don’t ever ‘beat’ kidney disease.”

Kovacs says her family has been told that most individuals with kidney disease can have up to four transplants in their lifetime.

“There’s quite a big bond between Taran and I,” adds Kovacs. “I love all my boys dearly but it’s a different bond than I do with the other two.”

Kovacs says she’s also developed a strong bond with the people that take part in the Kidney March each year.

“You become a family, you cheer with everything that goes on if someone that you have known for years through the Kidney March finally gets their transplant, you celebrate it with them,” she exclaims. “The Kidney March, we’re getting the information out there. When I first started with Kidney March, there wasn’t a whole lot of information, so it’s nice that people are starting to realize what the kidney does.”

Kovacs says there is support available throughout central Alberta for those dealing with kidney disease.

“When Taran first got sick, we had a lot of support through the Children’s Hospital,” says Kovacs. “They have a monthly meeting where you can go and talk with other parents that are going through the same thing that you’re going through. The disease may be different but it’s always nice that there’s someone there to talk to, like a peer group that you can be involved in.”

However, Kovacs acknowledges that thanks to the annual Kidney March, there is even more support out there now than ever before.

“People are talking more about donating a kidney and realizing I can donate a kidney and survive,” she exclaims. “So there is all of that information that is slowly getting out there. You learn a lot about your kidneys if it happens.”

According to event organizers, this year’s Kidney March will have 425 marchers and 201 crew members for a total of 626 participants.

To date, over $1,074,957.79 has been raised, surpassing this year’s goal of $1 million.

Officials say money raised will go towards kidney disease research.

Visit http://www.kidneymarch.ca to find out more about cheering station locations and ceremonies and how you can make a difference in the lives of people impacted by kidney disease.