Dale Phelps has a good reason to raise funds for the Kidney Foundation.
Last year, her son, Travis, received a kidney transplant, after being very sick for a couple of years with kidney failure.
Unless you have a hereditary form of kidney disease, Dale says, you may not be aware of the signs.
"It's silent and you don't know anything about it unless they do the exact test and catch it.
"We noticed that for a couple of years that Travis wasn't himself. He was starting to get a little more listless, and he wasn't doing the things he enjoyed doing as much as he used to."
It was determined that Travis had kidney failure and he would have to be put on dialysis, which he did in Williams Lake. He received his kidney transplant in April 2010 and is doing great.
Dale and Travis want to raise money for the local dialysis unit in Williams Lake, because of cutbacks in funding to the hospital and clinics the unit is “sorely under funded,” Dale notes.
Dale and Travis will be at the Cariboo Mall from March 24 to 31 with information, pamphlets and a donation can.
Cedar Crest Society (CCS), which provides support to Travis several days a week, will be supporting the Kidney Foundation fundraiser, says CCS executive director Tim Guthrie.
"On March 29, 2011 all sales from the Thrift Shop will be donated toward this worthy cause, so please come out and support Travis and the Kidney Foundation."
Says Dale: "We want to raise money for the comfort of the dialysis patients who go up to Williams Lake.
"Travis knows how uncomfortable it is up there. We are hoping to raise enough money for a television set."
The Williams Lake Hospital Ladies Auxiliary helped with new chairs and blankets for the patients last year, she adds.
Dale wants to emphasize that raising awareness for kidney disease is for the current patients and not for Travis.
"There are a lot of [local] people going through this, and I don't want them to be forgotten."
The Phelps will continue raising awareness about kidney disease, and they are hoping to start a Kidney Walk in September.
"I think Travis sets a wonderful example for others out there and we hope we can help others that are dealing with this terrible disease and maybe provide some measure of comfort to those who are still going through chronic kidney disease transplants and dialysis."
For more information on the Kidney Foundation, visit the Phelps in the Cariboo Mall or check out the website and www.kidney.ca.
