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Giving kids a better life - Auckland stuff.co.nz

ESTHER LAUAKI Last updated 11:00 21/06/2012 kidney

Photo: ESTHER LAUAKI

HEALTHY CONTRIBUTION: Paediatric nephrologist Dr William Wong from Starship children's hospital with one of two haemodialysis machines that will help treat kids with kidney disease.

There are only four nephrologists in New Zealand and Dr William Wong is one of the best.

It is likely you will have met him if yours is one of the 1200 families in this country that has a child born with abnormal kidneys or congenital kidney disease.

Dr Wong is the director of paediatric nephrology at Starship children's hospital and has served in the field for 18 years.

He was the second kidney specialist in this country after training under New Zealand's first nephrologist Dr Max Morris 22 years ago.

"I enjoy it because I like a challenge," he says.

"You see the patients and you get them well again. They run around and they are well. It's very gratifying to see. Within a few weeks of their transplant, they are living almost a normal life. It's an area which is often changing with a lot of new development which keeps things exciting."

Dr Wong has been seeing some of his patients since they were babies and will be with them throughout their teen years too.

"We start off with dialysis treatment. That is a big part of our work. Children are often very sick at the beginning and we've got to get them back to a state where they are able to lead a healthier, better life. That is very resource intensive and we need machines for that ... patients can't survive without dialysis."

Children on peritoneal dialysis can be treated at home but haemodialysis requires kids to visit the hospital and is reserved for serious cases.

A haemodialysis machine cleans the patient's blood by running it through an artificial kidney before returning it the body.

That means sitting still for four hour sessions, three or four times a week and it costs around $100,000 a year to help one person, Dr Wong says.

Starship has two haemodialysis machines and four children on haemodialysis at present.

The Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust, in conjunction with the Nor-west News and Kidney Kids, is fundraising to buy four haemodialysis machines for the first national dedicated Paediatric Haemodialysis Unit at Starship.

It has called the exercise Project Kidney and needs $132,000 to achieve its goal and help make a difference for the many youngsters affected from all over the country.

Any extra proceeds will go towards the unit and additional equipment.

"Just a dollar from each of our readers would pay for these machines many times over," trust chairman and Suburban Newspapers general manager David Penny says.

"This is one of those causes that we should all support in whatever way we can. Kidney disease is widespread and could affect any one of us or our families."

Dr Wong says diabetes, diet and other lifestyle choices are often factors contributing to the problem among adults.

But many children are the victims of genetics.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Living with diabetes - Newton Kansan

When out for a night on the town, it’s inevitable that someone will thank Wes Rhodes of Newton for serving in the military. His scars are obvious — he’s lost both of his legs just below the knee.
But Rhodes isn’t a veteran. He didn’t lose his legs battling enemies in a foreign land. He lost them as he battles diabetes.
“I spent a lot of years doing the wrong stuff” Rhodes said. “Not taking my medicine or living an indigenous life as a diabetic.”
Rhodes, now 35, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 16 — and he rebelled like any teenager would do.
He survived a car accident, and blood testing following the accident helped doctors diagnose Rhodes as a diabetic. That moment changed his life — and the life of his entire family —forever.
Rhodes needed to learn how to take care of himself, part of the problem. He admits as a teen he felt invincible. His step-father remembers the fights that would ensue anytime John Rhodes spoke to Wes about diabetes.
“I got to the point that if we were going to have a relationship, I knew we were not going to talk about it,” John said. “We couldn’t sit in the same room without fighting about if he was taking care of himself.”
Connie Rhodes, Wes’ mother, cleared all of the sugar from the family home — a lifestyle change for everyone as the family tried to help Wes take care of himself. She tried to learn all she could about treatment of a disease that can be fatal if not properly managed.
She still struggles with the emotional trauma — and the last few years have been most difficult. Her scrapbook about her son isn’t filled with cute photos and pages on fun trips. It’s filled with gruesome photos of foot sores and surgery recoveries.
“Wes has been handed a very tough life,” Connie said. “This has been emotional. I’m not allow to cry in front of him, that makes him go nuts.”
Wes has undergone six surgeries — losing his legs but also receiving a kidney transplant.
It all started with sores on his foot. Doctors removed a toe, then another. By the time they were done cutting on Wes, both his legs were gone below the knee.
His kidneys began to fail, forcing Wes to start dialysis treatments and hope for a donor and transplant. The regimen of dialysis was another change, another challenge of living with diabetes.
“Not only does dialysis take four hours, three days a week, there’s a financial burden and physical burden. You are worm out, you cramp, and it’s not fun.”
For Wes, losing bits of his body and living with diabetes for nearly 20 years is all water under the bridge. His May transplant changed his perspective, at least a little.
After a painful recovery in the hospital, life is back to as normal as it can get.
“Things are looking up more than they were three years ago,” Rhodes said.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have a few choice words for his teenage self — and a message for those who are diagnosed with diabetes.
“Taking care of myself the right way would have been less of a burden,” Rhodes said.