Awareness campaign supports 4-million Canadians living with kidney disease
Posted Mar 3, 2021 02:45:00 PM.
To mark Kidney Health Month in Canada, a social media and digital fundraising campaign is underway.
The Kidney Foundation of Canada has kicked off its annual 'Six Degrees of Kidney Disease' campaign, to encourage a show of support for the 4-million Canadians living with the disease.
The social media campaign is all about raising awareness of the prevalence of kidney disease through the sharing of our connections to the illness. The campaign also aims to raise crucial funds to support investments in research, education, and programs.
During the month of March, you're asked to join the campaign by following these steps:
- Post a photo of yourself holding up six fingers on Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook with the hashtag #SixDegreeChallenge
- Nominate six friends to do the same by tagging them in the caption
- Make a donation at sixdegreechallenge.com or by phone at 1.800.387.4474
Six degrees- that’s all that separates you from sb living w #kidneydisease . There are 4M of us “kidney warriors” in Canada & that number is, unfortunately growing. Show your support for @kidneyontario by joining the #sixdegreechallenge & visiting https://t.co/LqpVXEd7Cj pic.twitter.com/5VAhpywTA3
— Cristina Howorun (@CityCristinaH) March 1, 2021
CityNews Reporter Cristina Howorun knows first hand what it's like to live with the disease, as she was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease in 2018.
“I was out covering a story when I got the phone call with my doctor saying you have to go to the emergency room right now,” Howorun recalls. “So I went, literally from wearing a blazer and asking people questions, to being in a hospital gown within just a few hours.”
Howorun was put on dialysis very quickly, spending 12 hours hooked up to a machine every day.
“I was totally blessed because the wait for me was expected to be about five-to-seven years for a kidney donation, but my cousin Christine just bravely and immediately raised her hand,” Howorun said.
Howorun was able to get a live kidney donation from her cousin a year-and-a-half ago, and says she feels years younger now.
