Source: Calgary Hearld Neighbours The Community Weekly – Published June 13, 2013 by Paula Trotter

Michelle and Jason Hofer erupt into laughter when asked if they have a close relationship. The two joke back and forth about not being able to choose our siblings before Jason tells Michelle that she’s stuck with him for a brother — and you get the sense that she is more than OK with that.

“You never think you’ll lose somebody and thankfully we haven’t lost Jason,” says Michelle, 29, the younger of the two. “Still, it’s hard.”

Jason suffers from kidney failure and is awaiting his chance at a second organ transplant. Both siblings were diagnosed with Alport syndrome, a hereditary kidney disease, when they were kids. Their mom also has Alport syndrome, but is in stable condition. The illness, however, started shutting down Jason’s kidneys when he was 16.

“It’s definitely not fair,” Michelle says of the disease that has left her with very minor symptoms to date, but has turned her brother’s life upside down. At 24, Jason suffered renal failure. He has been on dialysis for the past eight years and currently goes for dialysis three times a week, spending four hours hooked up to a machine that removes waste and excess fluid from his blood.

One of his uncles donated a kidney in 2006, but Jason’s body rejected it, despite a year’s effort to try to save the organ with trips to the hospital and medication.The drugs caused avascular necrosis, which killed the bone tissue in Jason’s hips and shoulders. At 27, he underwent his first hip replacement. His other hip was replaced a year later and his shoulder joint was replaced in between the surgeries on his hips.

“You only have two options:deal with it or don’t. And not dealing with it really isn’t much of an option,” he says.

Once a promising young hockey player, Jason, 31, now has to limit his physical activity in the hope of extending the lifespan of his artificial joints, which is why his doctor recommended that Jason not participate in the annual Kidney March this fall. So Michelle stepped up and will complete the three-day, 100-kilometre trek through Kananaskis to raise awareness for organ donation and money for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

“He’s my big brother — he’s always been there for me,” she says. “Now it’s my turn to be there for him.”

The Kidney March kicks off Sept. 6 south of Calgary near Millarville, with participants walking about 30 kilometres each day, making their way toward the finish line at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Michelle has raised $1,600 so far, just past the halfway mark for the $2,200 that all participants are required to raise (her goal is $3,000). Jason has also raised an impressive $4,600 in a short amount of time. He will be volunteering at the Kidney March as a crew member so he can be on site to offer encouragement to his little sister.

“She’s doing this for me, so I’m going to be there for her.” She and her brother are most eager to raise awareness and money to fight back against a disease that has greatly affected their family — and countless other Canadians. According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, one in 10 Canadians has kidney disease and many more are at risk. This adds up to roughly 2.6 million Canadians. Kidney failure can be fatal without intensive treatment — ongoing dialysis or a successful organ transplant.

Source – Airdrie City View, published May 30, 2013 by Allison Chorney/Rocky View Publishing.

The community of Prairie Springs will be raising funds June 1, for a local family who is participating in the Kidney March in September on behalf of their daughter, who has kidney disease.
The neighbourhood will be hosting the inaugural Prairie Springs Garage Sale Parade from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the community.

“We thought as a community, if we could help out a family in need we would,” said event organizer Tracey Tremblay.

Taylor Nadraszky, 13, suffers from nephronophthisis, a disorder of the kidneys that will eventually result in kidney failure and the need for transplant.Nephronophthisis is a rare genetic condition that is the result of inheriting the recessive gene from both parents who are carriers of the gene. When Taylor was diagnosed with the disease in November of 2011, her kidneys were functioning at 44 per cent. A mere 10 months later, her kidney function had reduced to 29 per cent. Kidney failure occurs at 15 per cent functioning.Taylor’s condition is a chronic illness and the Nadraszky’s take things one day at a time.

Tremblay said the event will include help from local children, who will be selling lemonade and hand-draw pictures with the funds going to Michelle and Bill Nadraszky’s efforts in the Kidney March. The event will also include the chance to win gift baskets full of products and vouchers including Norwex products, hair products, a family photography session and a gym pass.

“The Nadraszky family doesn’t live in Prairie Springs but Airdrie is a pretty tight community,” Tremblay said.

She added once a community member made her aware of the Nadraszky’s situation and participation in the Kidney March, she started thinking of ways the neighbourhood could help.

The event was originally planned to be a raffle for the gift baskets but Tremblay said so many people showed interest in becoming involved it became a big community-wide garage sale. At the time of press, Tremblay said about 20 homes had registered to participate in the garage sale.

“With the baskets and the local kids helping out, I think we’ll be able to raise a lot of money,” she said.

Both Michelle and Bill Nadraszky need to raise a minimum of $2,200 to participate in the three-day, 100-kilometre walk, which raises funds for the Canadian Kidney Foundation.

“This is great,” Bill Nadraszky said. “I am looking forward to helping out and really excited and thankful that the Prairie Springs Community garage sale will be helping to raise funds for our cause.”

“The whole town of Airdrie has been amazing,” Michelle Nadraszky said, “residents, businesses, everyone. Complete strangers have offered to help us.”

Any items not sold at the garage sale will be picked up on June 2 and donated to charity, thanks to business sponsors such as Bates Mortgages and Airdrie Upcycle.

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