Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a major health challenge, affecting 1 in 10 Canadians. Often silent in its early stages, CKD can progress unnoticed until it leads to serious health complications. The disease significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduces quality of life, and can eventually lead to kidney failure. At that stage, survival depends on life-sustaining kidney replacement therapies such as dialysis or kidney transplantation.
This World Kidney Day, the Northwest Regional Renal Program is raising awareness about Chronic Kidney Disease and the unique challenges faced by patients living throughout Northwestern Ontario.
TBRHSC’s own Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse, Kayeleigh Larocque, with financial support from The Kidney Foundation of Canada, designed a shirt to help spark conversation and awareness. The following is her inspiration behind the artwork.
“The design is telling our story of dialysis in Northern Ontario. In the North, our Regional Renal Program faces unique challenges. Some of our biggest challenges we have overcome as a team, have been in relation to our unique geography.
Our Renal Program (at TBRHSC) services approximately 50% of Ontario’s geography. As you can imagine, simple solutions, to simple problems, can easily become complicated merely by where our patient is relative to us, and which services they have access to in their community. I really wanted to make something that acknowledged the pride and compassion I see in my team when overcoming our challenges.
With these unique challenges comes exceptional critical thinking application and problem solving. I am proud to be a part of a team that does so much, with so little, so often. We spend a lot of time collaborating together, with outlying healthcare facilities and providers, working to provide our patients with the quickest access to the care they need.
My passion around “water is life” and how I view, in the context of dialysis, water is balance. The kidney in this image is a symbol of life. Whether a patient is on PD or HD (peritoneal or hemo dialysis), their catheter, after starting dialysis is often referred to as their lifeline, a reminder to care for it as such. The kidneys are representative of that. In the middle of the kidneys is a map of Northern Ontario communities and the waterways — the lifeline that connects us all here. They blur with the roots of a tree exploding into leaves that flow back into waves which cradle the kidneys in a delicate balance. This all leads back to Lake Superior, the home of our Regional Renal Program, and indicated with a heart, a signature of the humanity I see in us all as we face our challenges together.”
Photos above: Kayeleigh Larocque, Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse, is wearing the shirt she designed with support from The Kidney Foundation of Canada in recognition of World Kidney Day. Notes on wall art below.
Photos above: On World Kidney Day, members of TBRHSC’s Northwest Regional Renal Program and Home Hemodialysis Unit wear a commemorative shirt designed by Kayeleigh Larocque, Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse, to bring awareness to chronic kidney disease and the challenges faced by patients living throughout Northwestern Ontario.
Kayeleigh Larocque, Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse at TBRHSC designed the wall art above for the Renal department waiting room. Here is what she said about it:
I wanted everyone that finds themselves in front of this piece of digital art work, to feel like it was made for them. We have not only dialysis patients that find themselves in this space but also family members and even employees.
A lot of people also find themselves here by accident – they may not have known they had kidney disease or never imagined their family member would end up on dialysis. I have this saying that I really like, “Be Here Now.” And even if you’re not happy with where you are or your feelings aren’t positive, you’ve found yourself in this spot no matter what. Regardless of how you’re feeling about how you got here, as a team we find our way through that together.
The waterways and the map are used to connect that idea, with the word “Welcome” written in multiple languages – no matter where in Northern Ontario you came from, the people here are going to get you through. Our common goal as a team is to help this person to where they have to go next.
This art is to acknowledge where someone started, where they are now, and where they are going next.
