PKD Life - Fall 2020 - 15

My Advice

1 Don't let dialysis or the
disease dictate your life. You
can still enjoy life and have
a good time! You just have
to follow the rules and take
safety precautions.
2 Exercise! You need to
move around to stay healthy.
3 Caregivers, allow others to
help you as well. If someone
offers to take a shift or bring
dinner, say yes.

A tireless advocate for people
with PKD, Baxter says, "I never
do anything just a little bit."

WAKING UP TO REALITY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GUERIN BLASK

Just because many people in
my family had it didn't mean
I knew what it was. I was pretty
ignorant about it. One sister
who also had the disease tried
to give me articles so I could educate
myself. I didn't want to read them; they
upset me and made me depressed. Even
when six of us were on dialysis, I didn't
try to understand or really take care of
myself. Here I was, helping everyone
else and ignoring my own needs!
I ended up on dialysis three days a
week for 12 years, but in 2016, both of

Baxter has
books
written five
nd
about PKD a
dialysis.

my kidneys failed. I underwent a left
kidney transplant. That finally woke me
up. I started listening to everything the
physicians told me about diet, safety,
and lifestyle after that. I read everything
I could on the topic so I could become
fully aware. I made sure I started taking
every precaution.

EDUCATION IS EVERYTHING

I knew there were many people out there
like me who didn't take care of their PKD.
I became a woman with a mission to
become a health ambassador to people
with PKD, their caregivers, and family.
It's important to me to change somebody's life and get them to realize their
needs and be proactive. I didn't realize
until I had to realize it, and it drives me
crazy when people act like I did.
Of course, I never do anything just
a little bit: I have written five books
about PKD and dialysis, led workshops,
advocated, and spoken all over in many
settings to all different age groups. I also
started a company called Blessed Kidney
Connections, which helps people with
PKD find work, housing, and education.
My YouTube program, The Lisa Baxter
Show, looks at every angle of the disease.
People come on who are patients, caregivers, health professionals, career advisors, advocates, or tech people. Anyone
who can shed light on this disease from
any angle, I want to talk to.
People ask me why I do all this-my
social work and the volunteer work for
PKD-and I always say, "For the smile
on the person's face when they 'get it.'"
There's nothing better than that.

To Get in Touch

If you're interested in being interviewed
by Lisa for her YouTube program, email
her at lbaxter272@gmail.com.

S H A R E Y O U R S TO R Y AT C O N N E C T. P K D C U R E .O R G / V O I C E S - O F - P K D

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PKD Life - Fall 2020

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