Share Your PKD Story
Whether you’re a person with ADPKD/ARPKD, a caregiver, parent to a child with PKD, or a supportive friend, you’re an important part of the PKD community. By telling your story, you can help others feel less alone on their PKD journey.
Share Your Story
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Voices of PKD
Voices of PKD is a collection of stories, testimonies, photos and videos that tell the story of PKD through the eyes of the PKD community. You can help give a voice to a widely unknown disease by sharing your story. Your experiences can paint a more powerful picture of what it’s like to live with PKD.
Jane Brann
My name is Jane. My father, whose PKD was a “mutation,” died at the age of 35, before either dialysis or transplants were developed. I was diagnosed with PKD at the age of 22. I closely watched my diet and...
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Caryn Becker
My name is Caryn Becker and when I was a teenager, I found out my dad had ADPKD. He let his kidney function drop until his creatinine was 14! He was very sick and eventually went on dialysis. My dad...
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Patricia Mittlestadt
My name is Patricia Mittlestadt and I am 65 years young and on the kidney transplant waiting list. My dream is to receive a kidney before I go on dialysis, which is around the corner. I keep going from stage...
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Michelle Leigh Watson
My name is Michelle Leigh Watson, and I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease at 33. My father died from PKD at the age of 47. His mother, two of his sisters, and three of my cousins have died from...
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Greg Zollner
My name is Greg Zollner and I was a nephrologist for 25 years. Twenty years ago, I diagnosed myself with polycystic kidney disease, during a routine demonstration of an ultrasound machine. I'm aware of the irony of a kidney doctor...
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Heidi Hammond
My name is Heidi and I found out that I had PKD at the age of 18 when I had appendicitis—only months after my dad discovered he had PKD and received a kidney transplant. He was the "mutant" and the...
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Vanessa Nieves
My name is Vanessa, and I’m 32 years old. I come from a long line of PKD survivors. My maternal grandfather was on dialysis for several years before passing away in the '70s. At the time, they didn’t know it...
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Megan Jones
My name is Megan and I was born with PKD. In 1992 it was unheard of in my hometown. Doctors told my mom I wouldn’t make it to the age of 2. When I was 6 months old, they finally...
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Denise Schmidt
My name is Denise Schmidt and I'm a transplant recipient. PKD runs in my family. My mom had it along with her sister, and my two adult sons have it (both are on dialysis). They're both getting tested to be...
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Jennifer Shareef
My name is Jenn and I was in my teens when I was diagnosed with ADPKD. My mother had renal failure and was placed on dialysis. My brother was tested to see if he was a match to donate a...
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Nick Attanasio
My name is Nick Attanasio. I'm 42 and I have stage 4 ARPKD. I was diagnosed when I was 14 after my father had his first kidney removed. They were monitoring his blood pressure after surgery and decided to test...
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Robbie McCafferty
My name is Robbie McCafferty. I’m 30 years old and I found out I had PKD in my early 20s. I'd been having sharp pains in my side for months. After finally reaching a breaking point at work, I went...
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