By Tyler Wright
Six years ago when Gembrook woman Liz Hoffman was diagnosed with Kidney Disease, she “stormed out of the room” in frustration.
“I was doing long distance running and I was having trouble getting my breath…so I went to the doctor, she did a blood test…and that’s how I found out,” Ms Hoffman said.
“But I had no idea, I didn’t even know what the tests they were doing were for.
She sent me off to a specialist…[who] said ‘this is what you’ve got and you’ve got high cholesterol,’ and I said, ‘I couldn’t possibly have a high cholesterol’ because I was very, very, very fit and really watching my diet.”
With no cure for the disease and the possibility of needing dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive due to kidney failure, Ms Hoffman said she ‘dropped her bundle’ for a few weeks post-diagnosis.
But now, with a specialist providing a positive outlook, Ms Hoffman continues to maintain a healthy lifestyle and walks between 15 to 20 kilometres everyday with her doberman, Buffy.
This October, Ms Hoffman and Buffy will aim to walk 450km as part of Kidney Health Australia’s Red Socks campaign, raising money and awareness for early prevention of Kidney Disease.
“There’s just a general lack of any sort of knowledge, because well, from my own point of view, and from a couple of other people I’ve met, [the thought is] you all look fine, you’re fit… what’s your problem?” Ms Hoffman said.
“If you look up the research on clinical trials and things like that, it’s all for people who are already on dialysis. Well, why let people get that far? Why not put research back into stopping people from going downhill until you get to that step?
Turn the research around the other way, so that you stop that progression.”
There are over 27,000 people in Australia requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation to stay alive, according to Kidney Health Australia.
Alarmingly, 90 per cent of kidney function can be lost before kidney disease symptoms are apparent.
Kidney Health Australia CEO Chris Forbes said the hidden symptoms of kidney failure are a “big problem,” and the organisation is trying to change people’s mindsets from kidney failure to preservation.
As part of the Red Socks campaign, nearly 2000 Australians are walking, running or cycling at their own pace, to implement research into new treatments and support for people with kidney disease.
“If you’re on dialysis, you can spend five hours a day three hours a week, strapped to the machine, getting your blood cleaned and removed from all the waste removed, so that’s why the Red Socks Run is about 60 kilometers, because over a month, you can spend 60 hours or more on dialysis,” Mr Forbes said.
“That can be very difficult for the patient and their family. It’s hard to travel, you feel tired and washed out, it’s a lot harder to maintain your work, so what we’re really trying to do the best outcome here is to detect it early and never end up with kidney failure if we can avoid it.”
According to Mr Forbes, the two biggest contributing risk factors to kidney disease and hypertension, or high blood pressure.
“If you have a user of those conditions, then you should be asking your GP for a kidney health check. But of course, other things such as if you’re a smoker, if you’re overweight, if there’s family history, if you have heart disease; these are other things that can lead to kidney damage and kidney disease,” Mr Forbes said.
“We want to have a bit of fun while we’re raising awareness and funds.
But also, if people think they’re at risk, if they’ve got diabetes, or high blood pressure, or one of those other risks, you can go to our website at kidney.org.au, and there’s a lot more information on if you’re at risk. We have a great health system, so if you think so talk to your GP and it’s a very, very simple blood and urine test, and you’re in good hands with your local GP.”
After setting out with her runners in October, Ms Hoffman plans to head to New Zealand in November, Reykjavik in Iceland by herself in February, and a walking trip with friends heading to the Flinders Ranges.
“We’ve usually got a couple of walks up our sleeve that we’re going to be doing,” she said.
To support Ms Hoffman in her fundraising efforts this October for the Red Socks campaign, head to https://fundraise.kidney.org.au/fundraisers/lizhoffmann/red-socks-run
