About My Jewelry

About My Jewelry
Mary Brown Jewelry

Monday, March 8, 2010

National Kidney Month

March is National Kidney Month and tomorrow, March 11, is World Kidney Day and also the date of my first Kidney transplant. In honor of this I would like to invite all our family and friends to join my husband, Bill, and I in our efforts to support the Kidney Foundation.


When I was 13 years old I had a strep infection that affected my kidney function. Over a 7 year period, my kidneys continued to decline until in 1970 I needed a transplant. Fortunately for me, my Mother was a match and she donated one of her kidneys to me.

In 2004 we discovered that my, then, 86 year old kidney was in trouble. My brother, Ted, was tested and turned out to be a perfect match, and he donated one of his kidneys to me in 2006. I still cannot believe how lucky I am; there is only a 25% chance that a family member will be a match.

Bill, who has been diabetic for a long time, is now on dialysis awaiting a donor match so he can have a transplant. Unfortunately, no one in his family can donate a kidney to him. Bill will have to wait at least 3 more years to qualify for a transplant, which is determined by his blood type.

On June 5, 2010 the the Kidney Foundation of Northern California
will be hosting the Silicon Valley Kidney Walk. I have set up a team named Billy Brown and would like to invite you to join me in the 3 mile walk and to collect donations in Bill's name. To donate to Bill's team, please follow this link:

Billy Brown's Team Page

I have set a goal this year of collecting $2,000.00 for this walk, and we hope that with your help to go beyond this goal. If you cannot walk but would like to make a donation please follow the link above.

If you wish to walk with me for Bill, please meet me outside the registration for the walk. You may turn in your collected donations at registration and receive a T-shirt if you collect $100.00 dollars or more.

If you would like more information about kidney disease and transplantation, please follow these links:

Facts about being a Kidney Donor

Kidney Foundation of Northern California

If you should have any questions about the Silicon Valley Walk, please email me at:

mbjewelry@comcast.net.











1 comment:

  1. Great site. Your links need to be a different color (maybe a lavender color/bolded), but great work.

    ReplyDelete