Pictured: "Tiger Lily Trio" acrylic painting
Order prints of Tiger Lily Trio from Geo Galleries here
Kidney disease awareness month occurs every March, with a green ribbon color for kidney disease and an orange ribbon color for kidney cancer.
I painted Tiger Lily Trio for kidney disease awareness. In this painting, both the green and orange colors are represented. The stamen, or stemlike structures that come out of the lilies and hold pollen, are kidney shaped at the tip to symbolize kidneys. These are painted in black.
There are three lilies in this painting, because kidney recipients often end up with three kidneys- instead of taking the damaged kidneys out, often surgeons will add the good kidney to the other two.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
“Your kidneys, each just the size of a computer mouse, filter all the blood in your body every 30 minutes. They work hard to remove wastes, toxins, and excess fluid. They also help control blood pressure, stimulate production of red blood cells, keep your bones healthy, and regulate blood chemicals that are essential to life.”
When I worked on the ambulance, I’d often take patients from an LTAC (long term acute care) or nursing home to dialysis and back. These patients were often sick looking and had fistulas in their arm. I always thought a fistula looked like someone put a hot dog under the skin of their arm.
Often, I would drop off a patient at dialysis, and they would be somewhat peppy. When I would pick them back up hours later, they would be tired, drained, and sometimes a little confused. It is important to remember not to take a blood pressure reading on top of their fistula. Patients in the hospital should also wear a Limb Alert bracelet on that arm for this reason.
Patients need to take dialysis three times a week and need to monitor their fluid intake. We sometimes get patients in the ER for “compassionate dialysis,” which is when they need dialysis but cannot afford it. During that time, we cannot move that patient, which means there’s one less bed for other emergencies. It makes being flexible to ever changing, unexpected demands in the ER more challenging when you have a patient you cannot move. However, this type of care is vital to patients who need it.
One year, I was working a market to sell my art. I had someone come up to me, saying that she’d recognize my art anywhere. I was so touched that someone that follows me on Facebook came to the event to meet me in person. She had purchased my tiger lily painting, along with my crepe myrtle painting for autoimmune hemolytic disease, from my online shop and wanted to meet me. She told me her story, of how she was born with autoimmune hemolytic disease, which then destroyed her kidneys.
After two transplants, her two new kidneys had been destroyed by her autoimmune disease, and she’d have to start dialysis. She was so hopeful and told me how much she appreciated that I was taking diseases and making them beautiful. I've often hoped that I would run into her again someday.
Per the National Kidney Foundation:
Preventive care for kidney disease includes getting regular checkups and keeping your blood pressure and blood sugar under control. Diet and exercise are great ways to do this! Also, be mindful of how many NSAIDs, such as Ibuprofen, you take as these can be hard on your kidneys.
Learn more:
American Association of Kidney Patients
Artist blog content and images are not authorized for reproduction. Produced for information and encouragement only; consult your doctor for health advice.