Chairman George Van Ankum welcomed 38 members and guests to a recent diabetes information meeting at the fire hall here.
Van Ankum expressed gratitude to those who helped raise $49,472 in the residential campaign.
Guest speaker Jane Ridley, a nurse practitioner from London Health Sciences Centre, shared information about diabetes and kidney disease, a passion of hers.
She started with the basics of proper kidney function that clears the body of unwanted waste products. The kidney is a master chemist.
Symptoms are vague and become the new normal. A blood and urine test will discover any of the five stages of gentle decline in kidney function that could lead to chronic kidney disease.
Diabetes and hypertension contribute to the disease, for which there is no cure. Simple changes in lifestyle can provide great benefits for blood vessels, kidneys and heart.
Ridley advised everyone to keep their appointment with the nephrologist. Dialysis will clean blood through an artificial kidney and return filtered blood back to the body. Kidney and islet cell transplants lead to a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs.
The meeting was sponsored by the North Perth-North Wellington Branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association in Harriston. Call 519-338-3181 or email npnw@diabetes.ca for more information.
