At Fresenius Medical Care UK & Ireland we are all too aware of the nuances of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the accompanying complications. As a result, we always strive to highlight important voices of healthcare professionals or patients in this space. Dee Moore, host of the fortnightly Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast, is one of these inspirational voices. She shares her personal journey with CKD and provides a platform to those also in a similar position.
In 2018, after months of feeling progressively unwell with flu-like symptoms and headaches, Dee visited A&E and was shockingly immediately admitted by the doctor following the results of her blood tests.
One week after being admitted to the hospital, Dee was told her kidneys were failing. After countless tests, fevering through the nights, and numerous suspected diagnoses by the hospital doctors, it was ultimately determined that this was a complication of an unknown infection. After 8 ½ weeks in the hospital, Dee was discharged and diagnosed with stage four CKD, but was given a slither of hope that her kidneys could one day recover. Sadly, later that year Dee’s kidney function plummeted again.
Back in treatment, the doctors attempted something new hoping that this would help Dee’s kidneys to recovery, but unfortunately this too failed. Realising that this was something she would have to live with for the rest of her life, in April 2019, Dee decided to share her journey and started a YouTube vlog named “Diary of a Kidney Warrior”, sharing her experience of battling CKD in real time.
After a suggestion from her husband, and being inspired by listening to other health podcasts, Dee decided to create her own. In August 2022, Dee launched Diary of a Kidney Warrior Podcast. Dee went from not knowing what a podcast was, to hosting, editing and producing each episode in the series. A year later, Dee partnered with the UK’s leading kidney patient support charity, Kidney Care UK, who provided Dee with the equipment needed to produce the podcast.
The episodes in the series cover both the personal experiences of Kidney Warriors and their inspirational stories of tackling life with CKD, as well as spotlights on health care and clinical professionals with relevant expertise / specialties, which Dee explores with them and helps them translate so that all patients can understand.
Highlighting both perspectives enables other CKD patients to become empowered and participate in their journey with chronic illness. Topics covered on the podcast include everything from mental health, sleep hygiene, understanding your renal blood test results, to sharing advice and tips with the aim to inspire self-advocacy amongst other patients.
Dee has acknowledged the sheer power of the supportive network around her, a ‘kidney family’ of mentors she has met along the way. This podcast is a way for her to give something back as she hopes to be that mentor to others. Dee also discovered that sharing professional advice and patient stories helped her on her own journey to come to terms with chronic kidney disease too, being both in a cathartic sense and also in a rewarding one by giving her a focus beyond herself. Every single person she has interviewed has helped her.
If there is one thing Dee wishes to be taken away from her podcast, it is, to quote one of her podcasts guests is that “the Kidneys don’t shout”. You can be symptomless and still experience kidney failure. Dee wants to emphasise the importance of regular blood tests to aid in tracking kidney function. “I was fortunate to have symptoms so mine was caught early enough to avoid dialysis,” said Dee, but not everyone will have this experience. Dee’s symptoms also largely mimicked the flu with exhaustion, feeling run down and finding everyday simple tasks difficult. By having a better understanding of your body, you may be more likely to seek help from a specialist if you felt something was more than just a seasonal illness.
By pairing her clinical experience as an Occupational Therapy Assistant for the NHS and practical lived experience of living with CKD, Dee has taken a complicated subject and made it something practical that everyone can understand. She chooses to live every day and in focusing on her kidney health care, has thus far avoided ever being on dialysis. A true warrior indeed.
You can listen to Dee’s podcast on streaming services Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, where a new episode is released every other Monday.
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