Guest Post: Coppell Teenager Gets New Lease on Life with Kidney Donation From Neighbor

Coppell Teenager Gets New Lease on Life with Kidney Donation From Neighbor

Teen’s Story Captures the Spirit of World Kidney Day

At 13, Jun Choi didn’t live a typical teenage boy’s life.  Instead of shooting hoops or playing football in his spare time, Jun spent up to 10 hours a day in dialysis.  He suffered from a kidney disease that required him to get a transplant that put him on a five-year wait list unless he found a donor. 

With the help of a neighbor – and now dear friend, Tresha Glowacki, Jun, now 17, is living the hectic, frenetic life of a high school junior.

Tresha and Jun

On March 7, Jun and Tresha will celebrate the third anniversary of their transplant as part of several activities during Kidney month (March 2014). One of the many activities orchestrated by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is to have cities around north Texas rally to paint their towns orange on World Kidney Day, March 13.

“With 73 million – 1 in 3 – Americans at risk of kidney disease and more than 1 in 9 adults who have chronic kidney disease, it is incumbent upon all of us to help raise awareness about early detection and prevention of kidney disease,” said Neil Foote, board president for NKF Texas Division.

For Glowacki, the kidney donation to Jun has changed her life. “I love Jun like he is my own blood, and now he is,” said Glowacki, president and CEO of Youth Sports Today Magazine and a mother of 4 kids. “ The main point Jun and I both want to stress is one of awareness. … For me it's about restoring a family to almost normality, like they have never known.  No more dialysis for 10 hours a day, boxes of dialysis supplies everywhere, chaos and worry will be gone for the most part.  For me, it's having a purpose by the Grace of God.”

Glowacki first learned of Jun’s need for a kidney while chatting with one of her friends who

had recently lost her son in a fatal accident.  Glowacki’s friend asked her if she could do anything, particularly with her affiliation with Taylor’s Gift Foundation and organ donor registration.  Glowacki learned that Jun was born with nephrotic syndrome, and after years of trying to save his kidneys, that were so diseased, he had to have a double nephrectomy (removal of kidneys) in June 2010.  Although Jun was on the transplant list and had been moved up to a priority status, it still meant it could take three to five years for a donor. His life span was less than half of that wait time.

 After three people turned out not to be a match for Jun, Glowacki secretly began getting tested to see if she could be a donor  “It was seamless, easy and a spiritual journey I never knew I would be so blessed to travel,” she said.

As Glowacki packed for her 10th wedding anniversary trip to Mexico on January 27, 2010, she received a call from UT Southwestern, confirming that she was a match. “I tell you this was a plan from God,” Glowacki said. “It was perfectly orchestrated and miraculous.”

“We have celebrated our transplant anniversaries each month,” Glowacki says. “The

Hanging with Jun

celebrations are not just a celebration of life, but also love, having a purpose, having one another and the magical almost indescribable joy that fills us, especially me, each and every day.  In a way it’s like I feel more complete as a person.  The best decision I have ever made and no matter what the outcome would do it all over again.”

The Facts about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): 

• More than 26 million Americans-1 in 9 adults-have kidney disease. Millions more are at increased risk for getting it, and most don't know it 
• Early detection can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure 
• High risk groups include those with diabetes, hypertension, and family history of kidney failure 
• African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians are at increased risk 
• There are no early symptoms of kidney disease. The only way to detect it is to be tested. 
• Two simple tests can detect CKD: urine test for albumin(ACR) and blood test to estimate GFR.

How can you get involved?

• ORANGE OUT your profiles on social media with this easy tool here and or wear orange and share photos on social media #WKD2014 
• Share kidney risk factors with 10 friends or loved ones 
• Volunteer to educate a local group with NKF’s “Your Kidneys and You” presentation 
• Get a quick kidney risk check, sign up at kidney.org/keephealthy 
• Participate in a Kidney Walk, www.kidneywalk.org

Take the Quick Kidney Risk Check Quiz and learn your risk:

http://www.kidney.org/kidneydisease/selfAssessmentQuiz.cfm

For more information about kidney disease or how to get involved with the National Kidney Foundation call 877.543.6397 or visit www.kidneytx.org. 

Join us on Thursday, March 20th at 2:15 in ACT 301 for a presentation on kidney health by Susan Manuel, Program Manager for the National Kidney Foundation.   

Youth Sports Today is owned and operated by Tresha Glowacki, a resident of Coppell, Texas, mother of 5.  Tresha is involved in her community and others as she has athletes of her own to watch, cheer on and snap those awesome action shots of.  Tresha enjoys sports of all types and strives to sponsor and promote as many youth athletes as possible.  Serving on the Board of Directors for The National Kidney Foundation, PTO of her kid’s schools, Coppell Family YMCA and Partnering with area Professional and Semi-Pro teams, Tresha is dedicated to serving others and Paying It Forward.

The Write Site at TWU

Whether it’s the first paper assignment of the semester or a final exam essay, writing can be a taxing process. When it comes to putting thoughts to paper, especially for academic writing, people frequently encounter problems with grammar, citation and organization of the paper. More often than not, writers may get overwhelmed to the point that they don’t know where to start. Like any other student going through college, those attending Texas Woman's University (TWU) are familiar with the road blocks that can occur while writing papers. Luckily, the Write Site is available to assist anyone that is part of the TWU community.

The Write Site is a tutoring center where students can be guided through the writing process. The physical offices of the writing center are based in two locations on the TWU campus. At the Classroom and Faculty Office Building (CFO) in room 129, students can walk in to make their appointments or set up a consultation meeting ahead of time on their website. From 9 a.m. to 5p.m. during Monday through Thursday or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays, the Write Site office of the CFO is open to members of the TWU Community. For those who may not be able to go to the Write Site during its office hours can utilize the writing center’s second office. For students that need writing consultations at later hours, the Write Site office located at the Blagg-Huey library is open Sundays through Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. When long distance and schedule conflict becomes an issue, the Write Site easily remedies the problem by offering students online services. 

“For our online students or people who have trouble getting to either of our brick and mortar locations,” states Dr. Jennifer Phillips-Denny. “We have our online writing lab, our OWL, and we have two types of OWL appointments.” As the Write Site coordinator explains, online writing lab provides students with asynchronous or synchronous online sessions. For asynchronous online meetings, Write Site patrons can electronically submit their papers and will receive feedback through email within 48 hours. Using headsets and webcams, the synchronous appointments between the student and the tutor are similar to face-to-face meetings in that both participants actively engage in a critique of the paper via computer screen. These are some of the few examples of how the Write Site has made their services available to students on and off campus. Still, what kind of services does the Write Site provide and what do they hope to accomplish in helping TWU attendees? 

According to Dr. Jennifer Phillips-Denny, the mission of the Write Site is more than just helping students to write great papers. For the Write Site coordinator and other consultants of the writing center, the primary objective in assisting their patrons is to teach them to become better writers. Although the Write Site does not provide proofreading and editing services, the writing center focuses on several topics involving the overall development of a paper.  This is not to say that proofreading and editing is completely absent from the sessions, but rather the tutor helps Write Site patrons recognize patterns of grammatical errors as well as how to correct them. Services primarily given by Write Site consultants range from pre-writing and planning, proper citations and making sure that the evidence shown throughout the paper is consistent with the main thesis of the assignment. While undergraduates in freshman English courses take advantage of the writing center, Write Site services are also beneficial for students from other disciplines. 

We spoke with two freshmen students about their experience with the Write Site. Tiona Pratt is a nursing major and Morgan Bower is studying biology as a major. They use the Write Site for assignments that they have in their English course. They use the face-to-face option for writing assistance. Ms. Pratt and Ms. Bower like to use the Write Site to aide in proper use of citations in their papers, to help plan their papers and make sure they are on the right track for their assignments with content and organization. They both like the Write Site because it is not a lecture class. They enjoy the down to earth atmosphere and how the people helping them are organized and helpful. 

Another student we spoke with is a TWU master’s student in nursing who attends courses at the Dallas campus. She first found out about the Write Site via email and on the TWU website. She was currently using the Write Site for her research paper about health organizations. She thinks the online option is the best feature of the Write Site, because it is easier since she lives and attends school in Dallas. She likes how she can submit a paper and they will evaluated and provide feedback in two days. She uses the Write Site to ensure she has all of the correct APA formatting and that the paper flows correctly. 



Just as the Write Site is made available to students, other TWU members take advantage of the writing center that goes beyond course assignments. “We offer to faculty and staff the same services that we offer to students,” says Dr. Philips-Denny. “We also offer help not only with academic writing projects, but with personal writing.” The Write Site often assists their patrons with non-academic writing projects such as grant applications, cover letters and even novels. For faculty members and staff, the Write Site not only helps out with matters concerning the critique of papers, but also helps them to organize workshops where students are invited into collective sessions that aim to improve certain aspects of writing. The Write Site is a great resource to use and provides services that benefits students in particular and the TWU community overall.

We want to take the time to thank all of you who took the time to interview with us. We appreciate your input on the Write Site. If you need more information about the Write Site or need to make an appointment with a writing consultant, go to website at http://www.twu.edu/write-site/default.asp.

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Why Sugar is Not So Sweet

What is Sugar Really?

Sugar is all around us and it can be a challenge to keep track of exactly how much we are consuming. Although sugar can be found naturally in some foods (i.e. milk or fruit), the majority of it in the American diet comes from sugar added during food processing. Sugar comes in many different forms such as: sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, mannitol, sorbitol, erythritol, dextrose, invert sugar, agave nectar, glucose, lactose, maltose, maple sugar, and molasses. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, each teaspoon of sugar contains 16 calories and the American Heart Association recommends that sugar consumption be limited to 100 calories per day for women and 150 calories per day for men.

Soda, Pop, Coke: Drinking Sugar across the Nation

        Some beverages do not need sugar to be sweet; soft drinks are not one of them. Known as one of the most commonly consumed drinks, soft drinks rein as supreme beverage. From coast to coast, soft drinks are labeled with different terminology but are categorized by diet experts as “sugar-sweetened refreshments”. Are these caffeinated drinks really all that bad? The answer is yes. No matter what you call them, soft drinks contain more sugar than the body needs without supplying any real nutritional value. What soft drinks do offer is an increased waistline, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Surely this is only the case if you drink an extremely large amount. This is not so. In fact, it only takes two sugary beverages a day to develop one of these diseases.

How Sugar-Sweetened Refreshments Kill

          From data collected in a 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study, it was found that sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with 180,000 deaths. Out of those deaths 133,000 were from diabetes, 44,000 from cardiovascular diseases, and 6,000 from cancer-related deaths. Women also have a greater chance of contracting these diseases due to their lower calorie intake. The American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in 2011 shared information that women who consume two sugar-based beverages a day are four times as likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer. So do yourself a favor and step back from the sugar-filled death weapon.

For more information on how to be heart healthy, check out these sites:

The American Heart Association
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

The National Institutes of Health
http://www.nih.gov/

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References

American Heart Association (On Soft Drinks and Death Cases)
http://newsroom.heart.org/news/180-000-deaths-worldwide-may-be-associated-with-sugary-soft-drinks?preview=d61e

American Heart Association (On Soft Drinks and Heart Disease)
http://newsroom.heart.org/news/sugar-sweetened-beverages-may-217750

American Heart Association (On Sugar-Based Drinks)
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/ActivitiesforKids/Whats-that-youre-drinking_UCM_459136_Article.jsp

National Institutes of Health (On Soft Drinks)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0041073/

National Institutes of Health (On Sugar)
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002444.htm

Picture 1
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/04/22/135578811/sugar-may-be-an-empty-nutrient-but-is-it-poisonous

Picture 2
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0041073/

Picture 3
http://www.theurgentcare.com/blog/2013/11/07/theres-nothing-sweet-about-sugar-break-relationship-now

 

National Children's Dental Health Month

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. We had the opportunity to talk with a pediatric dental office named Giggles and Grins, PLLC, office of Dr. Sandra Armstrong Dr. Amy Watts and Associates. They provided some valuable information about pediatric dental health.

The American Dental Association has named February as National Children's Dental Health Month.  This is intended to bring awareness to the oral health of children.  The American Association of Pediatric Dentistry has issued the "State of Little Teeth Report" which emphasizes the significant threat that tooth decay has to the well-being and future of children.  Mychildrensteeth.org is an excellent resource to families for accessing both general information related to their child’s dental health and guidance on specific issues.  

  

What parents really want to know…

·            When should I bring my child to the dentist for the first visit?

Simply…”First visit by first birthday” is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.  This visit will establish a “dental home” for your child, and it begins a thorough prevention program. Pleasant visits to the dental office will promote trust and confidence in your child for a lifetime.

·            What dental problems could a baby have?

         A big concern for babies is Early Childhood Caries.  Once a child’s diet includes anything besides breast milk, erupted teeth are at risk for cavities.  Remember…children should never go to bed with a bottle!

·            Why does my child need a space maintainer?

If a primary or baby tooth is prematurely  lost as a result of injury or decay, a space maintainer is recommend to “hold the space ” for the permanent tooth.  If left alone, the surrounding teeth can shift into the space resulting in crowding, or blocking the permanent tooth from eruption.

 

·            What if my child’s tooth is knocked out?

Accidents happen!  If your child’s tooth is loosened or knocked out, contact your dentist immediately.   If possible, put the tooth back in the socket or place in milk. The good news…in most cases, the tooth can be reattached. Mouth guards are crucial for kids participating in sports. You can purchase them from stores that sell athletic gear, or they can be custom made at your dental office.

·            Why did my doctor recommend sealants?

Sealants offer valuable decay protection for your child.  They are extremely effective for preventing cavities in the deep grooves of the molar teeth. Sealants are painted on the tooth surface and hardened with a special light.  It is painless and does not require numbing the tooth. Prevention is the key to a healthy mouth!

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