Living day-to-day with dialysis creates a “new normal”, coloured by intense experiences of isolation, depression, and anger. Angela L. Davis started on thrice weekly hemodialysis in January 2008. In her eloquent post, Ms. Davis discusses her struggles with isolation brought on by the loss of friends and the body changes associated with illness. She also touches on the struggles of coping with “kidney brain”, the mental fuzziness accompanying her illness and the therapy itself.

Out of these profound experiences grew her determination to advocate on behalf of others facing similar stressors. She founded “For Kidney’s Sake”, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide patients with opportunities to meet and socialize with others in similar situations. The hope is that the sponsored activities will reduce isolation and the accompanying depression. These efforts resulted in her being awarded the American Kidney Fund Hero of Hope award in 2015.