The Kidney Foundation is on a mission to deliver socks to dialysis patients across B.C.
A common side effect of dialysis is cold hands and feet, and the Warm the Sole campaign is meant to bring a little bit of warmth and comfort to 3,300 dialysis patients around the province.
Randy Spensley, engagement officer with the Kidney Foundation, was at the Cumberland Community Dialysis Clinic Wednesday, delivering socks to the patients there.
“My feet are always cold,” said Bill Hamel after receiving a pair of blue socks, decorated with miniature kidneys.
Hamel is 80 years old and has been on dialysis for around 2 years. With six renal units on the Island, he used to have to travel to Nanaimo for treatment but is now happy to be at a clinic much closer to home in Cumberland.
“I never realized how many people were on dialysis until I got on dialysis myself,” said Hamel. “Dialysis to me means a lot. It’s my life actually.”
He says he has grown to enjoy his time in dialysis because he gets to visit with the nurses and always laughs a lot.
“Here the service is excellent – all the nurses want to help you. It’s like coming home every time,” he said.
Spensley has only been working with the Kidney Foundation since September 2018 but was a volunteer long before that.
He was on dialysis himself for four years until he received a kidney transplant in 2012.
“My motto has always been pay it forward,” said Spensley. “May be a cliche, but for me, because I’m alive and well today, if I can give back to the people who aren’t well … that’s what I want to do.”
The Warm the Sole campaign was made possible thanks to $10,000 from the Aviva Community Fund. Your City Sports also donated an additional 3,300 socks to be distributed to those experiencing homelessness in the lower mainland.
jolene.rudisuela@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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