My name is Paige Rennekamp and I was lead to my passion, natural healing, through an interesting turn of events. I will try to make this long story short but also give you an understanding of how I came to this profession. When I was 18 years old I contracted mononucleosis which was found through a blood test. This blood test also showed that my kidneys weren't functioning at a normal level which then led to a long series of events including biopsies, medications and doctors visits to determine what exactly was happening with my kidneys. To no avail the doctors had no answers and told me I would eventually have to go on dialysis (a machine that filters the blood like a kidney does except it's no where near the same) or get a transplant. Hearing this at the tender age of 18 is a

very frightening experience. I knew I wanted to live but did I have to live on a machine? I didn't want this so I went on the transplant list and waited but unfortunately my kidneys didn't make it until they found a donor. I started on dialysis the day after my 21st birthday. Not exactly a fun time. I adjusted to going to dialysis 3 days a week for 3 hours after a while but didn't like it at all and felt very weak and tired after each treatment. The leg cramps, diet, and needles didn't help either. After 7 months I got the call and recieved a kidney tranpslant. This I thought would be a great thing. I would have my life back no more dialysis and feeling bad. Unfortunately I was wrong...my body had trouble accepting the kidney and for the first week it didn't work and there after I kept having rejections every few months. They pumped me full of very powerful immunosuppressive drugs to try to save the kidney but left me with no immune system, an extreme moon shaped face (steroids cause extreme puffiness), weakness, irritability, bone pain...the list goes on and on. So what I thought would be a "cure" was really a nightmare. After a year and a half of this the kidney finally gave up and I went back on dialysis. I was on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis for a total of 5 years before I even considered going back on the transplant list. I just couldn't think about going through what I went through with my first kidney transplant again. I waited 2 more years and I finally on May 10th 1997 I got the call that there was a kidney for me! This time I was doing cartwheels down the hallway of the hospital. I wasn't doing very well on dialysis and I knew I had to have this transplant to save my life.  My kidney worked the minute they put it in and more than 11 years later it still works like it's my own!

I  wanted to share my story with you because my experience brought me to learn about natural healing methods. I wished I would have known about herbs, vitamins, and other natural healing modalities when I first got sick and then maybe I wouldn't have had to go through the pain and distress that I went through. I do understand that illness brings an awareness that we may not have had if we had not gotten sick but I don't believe that people need to suffer without trying other avenues to bring balance back to the body.  I now take vitamins, herbs, and eat a healthy diet. I use massage, Theta Healing, Integrative Energy work, chiropractic, and I have used other natural healing methods to return to a state of health and to help with the side effects of the medications I will need to take for the rest of my life. Implementing these things in my life post-transplant has definitely served me well. I'm feeling better than I ever thought I could. Healthy blessings to you! Paige     This is me on my 9 year "kidnaversary"! I celebrate every year on May 10th and honor the blessing that I received.   "Recycle yourself, donate your organs" As of today there are more than 99,000 people waiting for organs. Find out more at OrganDonor.gov National Kidney Foundation

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