Hellnback - kidney warrior

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In July 2019, the family was travelling in Northern Manitoba with a visit to Cross Lake to attend a community family camp gathering. One night, they would be devastated at the news that would change their life and path. One evening, while in Cross Lake, Karmen couldn’t breathe, the symptoms were almost similar to a flu. With a rush to the nursing station and some blood tests, the nurse would diagnose Karmen with Stage 5 Kidney Failure. The family would rush back to Winnipeg and begin understanding the process of kidney disease. 

When Karmen was 19, he was diagnosed with diabetes and as he would go through out life, the damage of diabetes would eventually lead to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). CKD is a condition the progresses slowly over a period of time followed by gradual loss of kidney function. It is a common disease plaguing our First Nation communities across Canada. The treatment is dialysis which is a process that helps filter the toxins in our blood from the kidneys. You can learn more about kidney disease by clicking here for information on the Manitoba Renal Program.

Since his diagnoses, he had been through two procedures. The first procedure was peritoneal dialysis treatments for 14 months, his chest catheter stopped working which resulted in an emergency catheter on his right side. Eventually, he would accept the procedure to accept hemodialysis treatments 3 days a week at Seven Oaks Hospital in Winnipeg, MB. The family went through surgeries, procedure, life changes and eventually turned to music to cope and share the story of their journey to the resilience.