help my friend with a renal diet

My friend went on dialysis this week. Really, he did pretty well with his diet. They thought four months ago that he would go on dialysis any day and he lasted all this time, going through the major milestone of graduating from high school before he had to start.

He’s in the hospital right now for the first few treatments, but we think he’ll come home tomorrow and he and his parents will set him up on the machine every night in his own bed.

While we were visiting today, so was Joss Stone!

Looks like my friend already has a kidney donor—a cousin with a matching blood type who is willing to donate a kidney. Sometimes, people are really wonderful.

My friend’s kidneys didn’t handle his recent bout of flu well. He’s in the hospital with 5% functionality of his kidneys. He’ll be put on the list next week as being in need of a kidney—so we’re praying for one to become available for him as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, he’ll be on dialysis. The best scenario is that he can have the new kind of dialysis that they can do at night while he sleeps. It’s less stressful physically and other ways. It would also mean he would be able to finish his senior year in high school in the normal way. The traditional dialysis would mean he would have to miss an hour or more of school three days a week—and likely feel poorly on the other days. So, we could use prayers or positive thoughts for the things to work out for the nighttime dialysis.

Thanks, y’all.

Have you followed a renal diet or been close to someone who has? The adults in my friend’s life are all doing Internet research on the topic and confusing ourselves. The appointment with the dietician isn’t until March 4, so we’re kind of winging it now.

A young friend of mine has Alport Syndrome, a kidney disorder. He’s just been told it’s time to go on a special diet that will hopefully extend the life of his damaged kidneys, putting off for a little longer the need for dialysis and a transplant.

He’s a senior in high school, so of course his favorite foods come from Domino’s and Taco Bell. Now, he can’t eat cheese or tomatoes (and a long list of other items that have too much phosphorous) and he has to restrict sodium and protein.

To do this, he’s going to need to eat a lot more home-cooked foods than his family is used to providing. Since we’ve now moved to eating about 95% of our food from our own kitchen, we think we can help by providing some items so they don’t have to make such a drastic switch.

First, I’m going to invent a no-salt, white bread for him and plan on baking a couple of loaves a week so that he doesn’t have to rely on commercial bread.

Second, we’re going to see if we can invent a cole slaw that he would eat.

Third, while we were making our first risotto last night, we realized that it was decadently creamy even before we added the cheese and butter. So, we started thinking about how it could be made with Mexican spices. Yes, we’ve begun to invent the world’s first risotto buritto. Watch out, Taco Bell!