David Lum
“Those dumb mistakes, you learn from. They make you who you are.” A few years ago, David Lum was all about his career, maintaining electronics to keep planes flying on the whole West Coast. “Burning myself out without realizing it,” he said. “Living in airports. Eating terrible stuff. Not drinking liquids. Not exercising. Ignoring my blood pressure and saying I’ll deal with that later. I have no regrets. I got the material goods, I got the career of my dreams.” Life changed with his kidney failure, peritoneal dialysis and the unexpected death of his wife of 27 years. “The first thing you have to learn is acceptance. I have a great life, but it’s simpler now. And now being simple makes me happy.”
Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown was 13 when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She learned that kidney disease is a common complication, but managed to avoid it for years with careful blood pressure management, diet and exercise. In 2010, age 35 and finally facing kidney failure with a husband and two kids, she chose to go home. “Home hemodialysis is great – I have more freedom, free rein on what I do, when I want. I spend more time at home, spend more time with my family. I like doing it by myself and for myself. I have that spirit of independence. Being able to be independent with dialysis lets me feel that I’m getting revenge on the diabetes.”
Bonnie Martin
Bonnie Martin still entertains almost every day even though she’s retired from the family business running hotels and restaurants in Buckley. She drives to Northwest Kidney Centers in Enumclaw at 5:30 a.m. to be the day’s first patient. That way she’s finished in time to stop by the senior center or work at maintaining her status as “garage sale queen.” “Everything changed all at once,” when Bonnie’s husband died and her kidneys failed in 2013. “I’m not a candidate for a transplant. I said, ‘Give those kidneys to a younger person.’ Without dialysis, they’re going to throw dirt in my face. I knew I needed to be tough to keep going.”
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