Jean Sommer
I was diagnosed with PKD and PLD in 2001, and three months later my sister was diagnosed. My sister, brother, and I inherited PKD from our mother, who never knew she had PKD. She died from complications after brain aneurysm...
Read More
Lauren Thompson
I was diagnosed in 2019 as I was turning 27. I was feeling really tired all of the time. I thought it might be work and burn out, but requested a blood test by the GP. My bloods showed reduced...
Read MoreStephanie Fehrmann
I was diagnosed with PKD when I was 7 or 8 after my dad was diagnosed with PKD. Being diagnosed so young was strange because I didn't really understand what it meant. Now I do. As a young adult, I...
Read More
Haley McNamara
My name is Haley McNamara and I'm a 28 year-old Southern California native currently working in the sports industry at Major League Soccer. I recently moved back to California after being in NYC for five years when my PKD took...
Read More
Adrienne Montgomery
I was diagnosed when I was 26, and by accident. When I went to the ER for shortness of breath, it ended up being hypertension. I had to get a CT, and by chance, there were cystic kidneys. I have...
Read More
Karen Kessler
I inherited my PKD from my father’s side of the family. My grandfather died of kidney failure in his late 30’s when my father was about 19 years old. My father was diagnosed young, and his kidneys failed at age...
Read More
Alyssia Gomez
My name is Alyssia and I was diagnosed with PKD at the age of 20. My diagnosis came when I was serving in the US Army Reserves and I had an unexplained abdominal pain during our exercise. I'd became very...
Read More
Janice Lucas
My aunt was diagnosed in the early '70s and the hospital in Seattle asked my cousins and siblings to get tested. I was eight months pregnant at the time and I couldn't travel to participate. My aunt and my dad...
Read More
Paulette Meaney
My husband was diagnosed with PKD in 2008. His kidney function declined significantly over the years, and in June 2020 he was referred for a transplant. Thank God I was a great kidney match. I was able to donate my...
Read More
Lainie E.
I represent the third generation of ADPKD in my family—I was diagnosed in my early 20s. Those in my family who are no longer with us, passed away due to complications of the disease, but my father received the first...
Read More
Kaylee Gunn
When I was 32 weeks pregnant with my first child, we found out he had cystic kidneys. We were told to expect the worst. If he lived through birth, he may not have fully developed lungs. He may need dialysis...
Read More
Ashlee Olando
We found out that my unborn daughter had a cyst in her right kidney. It was then that they questioned who she’d received it from, and we discovered that my husband had ADPKD. He was never screened for it even...
Read More