Joliet family walks to support son and others with kidney disease

JOLIET – Joliet resident Sandy King and her family honored her son Nolan – who has chronic kidney disease – by walking in the Walk for Kidneys on Sunday to show the disease doesn’t just affect adults.

As part of Team Nolan, King and her family decided to participate for the first time in the walk that raises money for the National Kidney Foundation to help others such as Nolan, 4, receive better treatment. According to the foundation, 26 million American adults have kidney disease.

“There’s millions of people with kidney disease and they don’t even know they have kidney disease – it’s a silent disease,” King said.

Nolan’s parents knew he had kidney problems before he was born. King said it’s been “heartbreaking and devastating” for their family knowing he has chronic kidney disease.

“He looks perfectly healthy and we know he’s not,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to watch him knowing he has this disease that does get worse as he gets older.”

Chronic kidney disease is a condition characterized by gradual loss of kidney functions over time, according to the National Kidney Foundation. If the disease worsens, wastes can build to high levels in the blood and make a person sick.

People with the disease can develop complications, such as high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, poor nutritional health, heart and blood vessel disease.

Thousands of walkers were at the 3-mile walk in Chicago for Walk for Kidneys to help people affected by kidney disease, raising money for prevention, education and empowerment programs.

King said she wanted to participate in the walk to show people how kidney disease can affect someone like Nolan.

“He’s still young and cute, so we wanted to put him out there so people can see kidney disease isn’t just [affecting] old people,” she said. “Hopefully, people will open their eyes and start donating to the National Kidney Foundation.”

Nolan stays active, she said. He loves to play sports, such as soccer, for the Joliet Park District and he loves to watch wrestling.

King hopes Walk for Kidneys makes people more aware of the disease and the research being done – such as artificial kidneys and stem cell research – to help those who struggle with it.

“They need all the help they can get,” she said.

To make a donation to the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, visit nkfi.org, or call 312-321-1500.