NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice Promotes the National Kidney Foundation
NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice Promotes the National Kidney Foundation
Even if you don’t know who the NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice is, you must have heard about the National Kidney Foundation and the wonderful work they are doing for kidney disease.
March 14th is World Kidney Day, and we are doing whatever it takes to bring this to the forefront to raise awareness about kidney disease. Kidney disease has affected my family too and that’s one reason it’s especially important for me, personally.
Please note – this is a sponsored post with the National Kidney Foundation.
If you’ve never thought about your kidneys before or what they do to keep us alive and healthy, then you’ll want to pay attention to these important facts about exactly what our kidneys do for us every day!
This year’s World Kidney Day – Kidney Health for Everyone, Everywhere, is intended to raise awareness about kidney disease and to give everyone a chance to prevent it with access to proper screening and a healthy lifestyle.
When it comes to vital organs, hearts get all the love. Kidneys don’t get nearly the same love as the heart, the bladder, the colon—those heavy hitters get all the attention.
Be sure to watch the videos below from NFL’s Jerry Rice and his personal experiences with kidney disease.
I’ll bet that most Americans know stats about their favorite football players but nothing about their kidney stats, right? Kidneys score touchdowns for our bodies all day.
Here are some facts about kidney disease you need to know:
- Our kidneys are essential to keeping us alive and healthy.
- They work 24/7 to remove waste and keep our blood pressure in check.
- Kidneys are just as vital to sustaining life as the heart.
- It only takes two simple tests, urine, and a blood test at your primary care doctor’s office to check for any red flags.
As I stated earlier, kidney disease has affected my family too, and that’s why bringing awareness to the National Kidney Foundation means so much to me. Growing up, my cousin and I were very close. Her dad, my uncle, passed away when we just eight years old. Needless to say, these were very difficult times. My cousin lived right next door to us and after her father’s passing, she came to live with us for a while creating an even stronger bond than we already had.
She became my second sister, and we’ve been close ever since. As a child, she always had kidney issues and into adulthood, her kidney disease developed causing them to fail and requires daily kidney dialysis. Currently, she is on the donor kidney waiting list which is a lengthy process and can often take years to get one.
Did you know that when kidneys stop working, dialysis or transplant are needed just to survive?
We can all do our part to spread the word by donating to the donate National Kidney Facebook Fundraiser today!
There are some things you can to start giving your kidneys some love and heart your kidneys for a change!
Ask your doctor a simple question, especially if you have high blood pressure or diabetes:
- How are my kidneys, doc?
- Kidney disease can affect anyone. But the risk for kidney disease can be reduced with regular checkups, a healthy diet, and exercise.
- Because even if you inherit kidney disease, you can still slow it down with lifestyle changes.
- Let’s know our kidney stats like we know our football player stats.
- Let’s refuse to accept that kidney health is somehow less important than other pressing health issues.
- Let’s reject the notion that this disease only affects older people.
- Let’s be a voice that doesn’t back down, that won’t accept excuses, and that leads and ignites change.
- Let’s make kidney health part of everyday conversations with the same urgency as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.
So, this March 14th, be sure to #HeartYourKidneys for a change! Make kidney health part of everyday conversations with the same urgency as heart disease, cancer or diabetes. Because if your kidneys stop working, so do you. The National Kidney Foundation is hard at work bringing the awareness kidney disease deserves.
Did you know there are 5 jobs you didn’t know your kidneys have? It’s so important to bring awareness to kidney disease and what you need to do to score a touchdown against it!
NFL superstar Jerry Rice is doing his part and uses his youthful, seemingly boundless energy to keep carrying the ball for the cause closest to his heart: tackling chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Jerry Rice stated, “My brother Tom has CKD,” Jerry said. “I’ve watched him go to dialysis three days a week for years, which is really hard on the body. He’s a very positive individual. Still, sometimes I spend the long hours that he endures just sitting by his side. It was my brother, after all, who loved, encouraged and pushed me early on by telling me that I had to make it to the NFL.”
We can all do our part to spread the word by donating to the donate National Kidney Facebook Fundraiser today!
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