Penticton father on dialysis fighting for life against kidney disease
Every day is a battle for a young Penticton father and athlete who is coping with rapidly advancing kidney disease while he waits for a kidney donation.
Blake Richardson, 35, is spending roughly five hours, three days per week at the hospital plugged into a dialysis unit that filters his blood, a process that leaves him exhausted.
“I have a stent attached to my heart and it’s protruded from my body so they can literally plug me into this machine,” he said. “Blood circulates in and out and goes through a filter that cleans out particulates. It takes hours, it’s exhausting, I go home and have to sleep after.”
Richardson spends the energy he has left on co-parenting his 10-year-old daughter.
“I joke around with her (Richardson's daughter) lots and we have a happy household, I’m just trying to maintain her regular daily life, activities and time with friends, so she isn’t impacted,” he said. “I sleep around her schedule so I can look after her and she doesn’t see me run down.”
Richardson has been athletic his whole life, growing up playing minor hockey and continued on to train in running and cycling for Penticton’s Ironman competitions in 2020 and 2021. Those competitions were cancelled because of COVID and by the time the 2022 event was on, Richardson’s health was declining.
He had temporary blindness in his left eye for weeks. At a doctor’s checkup, it was discovered Richardson had IgA Nephropathy, an autoimmune disease that attacks the micro filters in the kidneys. By the time he was diagnosed, he had almost no kidney function left. He has extremely high blood pressure, and a low level of hemoglobin that causes extreme fatigue. The disease can lay dormant for years and it’s unclear what triggered it.
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Richardson said his medical team is working on getting a live kidney donor and there are currently a few people testing to see if they are a match but it’s a long process. Medical staff have to be careful the chosen kidney won’t be rejected. Richardson needs as many people as possible getting tested. If he gets a kidney and it works, he has the potential to get his life back.
“I’d have to take anti-rejection drugs every day for the rest of my life and continue making healthy choices, but there is a high success rate for people who are consistent with these things and they can live a long life," he said.
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When asked how he feels about his friends supporting him and starting a gofundme for him, Richardson got emotional.
“Oh man, I can’t find the words for that, it’s super special, I’m insanely grateful,” he said. “It shows how selfless they are, donating time and resources.”
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