Member Spotlight: Elizabeth H
At 61, Elizabeth is living with Stage 4 CKD after a rare autoimmune disease, Goodpasture Syndrome, damaged her kidneys 11 years ago. Now stable, she stays active with regular walks and Kidney Beam sessions, benefitting from the time for herself, as well as the strengthening sessions.
Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself and your kidneys
I'm 61 years old and I have Stage 4 CKD, my kidneys are currently running at around 21% eGFR. 11 years ago I had a very sudden onset of a rare autoimmune disease called Goodpasture Syndrome, whereby my body’s own immune system attacked my kidneys, resulting in 85% damage to my kidney membranes. It took about 2 weeks in hospital to diagnose this, and another 6 weeks of chemotherapy combined with 21 sessions of plasmapheresis to get the antibodies in check. I also needed a couple of dialysis sessions as my eGFR went down to 7%. Since then, I've gradually improved from Stage 5 to Stage 4 and attend a clinic at The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle every 6 months to keep an eye on everything. I occasionally have problems with too much potassium or a little water retention, but on the whole I lead a pretty normal life - I call my kidneys my "magic kidneys"!
How do you feel in general about physical activity and movement?
I'm a very active person , I need to move every day. I used to run 5ks, but I have a few arthritic joints, and a problem with my knees now, which limits exercise sometimes. I walk lots, and I especially enjoy walking The Wainwrights in The Lake District. I visit America often as one of my daughters and my grandchildren live there. I feel I need to keep active and fit as long as possible so I can do activities with them.
Tell us about your experience on Kidney Beam
I was recovering from a recent knee problem and had got out of the habit of making time to do exercise. I'm also trying to lose weight and exercising helps with that. I needed to find the time to focus on myself, as I still have a busy work life, and Kidney Beam, plus the phone calls from health coach Herolin every 2 weeks, helped me find that balance.
I am enjoying the exercises and I'm trying to use some weights in my exercises and focus on strength training, rather than aerobic exercises. I feel better for focusing on myself and I'm also losing weight. I like the fact I can do it whenever I like and I can pause the session if necessary. The presentation and the class instructors make a difference too.
I haven't managed to log on to a live session yet as the timing hasn't been right for me, but I intend to try to get on to one of the live sessions soon, as I think I will enjoy the community.