The 2003 Walk-A-Thon on May 10 raised more than $95,000 for kidney disease patients in need! Congratulations to everyone for their hard work and terrific support!

The 2002 Annual Meeting, hosted by AmSouth Bank, was held on January 7, 2003 at AmSouth Harbert Plaza. Foundation members, corporate supporters, patients, nephrologists, social workers and others gathered to celebrate a monumental year for the Alabama Kidney Foundation!

Board members Chris Duncan (left) and Rod Woodford (right) with AmSouth Bank welcome incoming Board Member John Teta with The Bank.

Dr. David Warnock, Division Director of Nephrology at UAB (pictured above left) is surrounded by his staff Katrina Fowler and Linda Felderhoff. Guest speaker Rod Wilkins, a policeman at University of Alabama at Birmingham (pictured above right with Board President Margaret Tresler) received a kidney from his brother and enlightened the audience about his experience and receiving the gift of life.

Each year at the Annual Meeting, the William E. Rowe Award, named for the founder of the Alabama Kidney Foundation, is awarded to someone who has shown stellar service and dedication to persons with kidney disease. The nominees this year include Mark Benfield, MD; Karen Bush, MSW; Ann DeHaven, Volunteer; Denyse Thornley-Brown, MD; Gwen Valenti, RN.

Congratulations to the William E. Rowe Award recipient Karen Bush, renal social worker with DCI in Montgomery!

Jack Jackson, Executive Director is pictured above with some of the nominees (from left to right) Karen Bush, Board Member Patti Bland, Dr. Denyse Thornley-Brown and Gwen Valenti, RN.

On December 2, Foundation volunteers gathered for the Annual Holiday Stocking Stuffers which provides 1,660 dialysis patients in and around Birmingham with a holiday goody bag each year. Volunteers gathered to stuff the goody bags with fun and useful items, and social workers then delivered the Christmas gifts to their dialysis patients at dozens of units in the area. Many thanks to the hard working volunteers who helped secure donated goodies for the bags and raised almost $3,000 to puchase items!

The 2002 Kidney Patient Education Conference on October 13 was a tremendous success and an invaluable learning opportunity for patients around the state. Each fall, the conference is hosted by the Alabama Kidney Foundation and is free of charge to kidney patients and a guest.

Keynote speaker Bryon Vouga of Anaheim California, elite cyclist, schoolteacher and three time kidney transplant recipient, relays his adventure of cycling across country while on dialysis. He averaged 100 miles a day.

At a special "Lunch with the Experts", patients gain rare unlimited access to their favorite expert. In addition to Dr. Jerry Jackson with Nephrology Associates, PC in Birmingham, dozens of nephrology professionals from Birmingham and the southeast hosted a table for patients.

 

 

Many thanks to conference sponsor Fujisawa Healthcare and conference supporter Amgen.

 

 

Each year, hundreds of kidney patients visit Camp ASCCA in Jackson Gap Alabama for a weekend at Kidney Camp! Kidney Camp is a wonderful and important recreational opportunity for patients. Arlene Carrasquillo, MSW, is a renal social worker at Gambro in Birmingham. Ms. Carrasquillo states "Imagine the 2-4 medical appointments that you and I have each year. Now imagine going to 14 medical appointments each month. That's what patients on dialysis have to do... dialysis 3 times each week for 4 hours at a time. Naturally, patients get bored, depressed and lonely. Kidney Camp is absolutely essential to the mental and emotional well being of kidney patients. It's a place where for a short time, patients can forget they are so sick."

Organized by Alabama's Nephrology Nurses, Kidney Camp is highly anticipated each year by patients. For many, this will be their only vacation of the year to to their financial constraints and the tremendous time involved in treatment. The Alabama Kidney Foundation is a proud sponsor of Kidney Camp, providing more than $7,000 each year to sponsor campers.

The 2002 Walk-A-Thon on April 6 was the most successful ever raising more than $110,000 for Alabama's kidney disease patients in need.

Many thanks to all of you who worked so hard to ensure we can continue to provide important progams to Alabama's kidney patients at no cost!

A new and improved children's area proved to be a smashing success with a moonwalk, face painting, carnival games, a storyteller and the infamous balloon maker Professor Twist.