Vada Conant Vada Conant & Dialysis

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Feel free to follow us and walk through this journey with us. Prayers, comments and suggestions are welcome from any and all. My husband David, sons Matthew (Steph), Greg (Beth), grandsons, Evan and Jamie, and daughter Amanda (Christopher), thank you for visiting.

Many of my friends do not know that I have been battling End Stage Kidney Disease for more than 5 years. It is due to the damage that was inflicted on my kidneys by 42 years of high blood pressure. I was kept off of dialysis by the Grace of G-d and the skill of my nephrologist for as long as possible. However, after several hospital admissions in one year and an increased difficulty in managing the problem, dialysis was started in November of 2018. I have been on the kidney transplant list since July 2018. I am on Peritoneal Dialysis, which is done every night on a machine for 7 hours. The impact on my life and that of my family is major. The worst part was not being able to travel to Florida when my 94 year old mother-in-law fell and needed surgery. My bedside machine, 5 liter bags of fluid, all cleaning and dressing supplies must travel with me. I also need to stay close to home when I am not feeling well in order to monitor my electrolytes and blood count. I have worked on keeping this situation close to the vest, but my transplant team is now encouraging me to increase my visibility. I am told that the wait time from a deceased donor is 3-5 or 5-7 years depending on the individual requirements. I am also told that a transplant from a living donor will work better and longer than a transplant from a deceased donor. There are programs, or chains, that have been created to not only help me but others that you may know. Visit www.kidney.org for additional information. I am registered at Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, PA and if you would like more information regarding helping me, visit mainlinehealth.org/kidney or call 1-484-476-8485. Thank you for taking the time to read this and know that I fully realize that organ donation is a decision not made quickly or without research. Everyone cannot nor wishes to be an organ donor. You can help by simply learning about kidney disease, spreading the word and assisting in any manner that you feel comfortable.