By Dominic Abassi

Special guest at Nanaimo Kidney Walk highlights impact of event

Sep 25, 2016 | 1:51 PM

NANAIMO — The importance of fundraising and community support was front and center at the 2016 Nanaimo Kidney Walk thanks to the presence of a special guest.

Two-year-old Hailey-Ann Grant made a special trip from Victoria to walk alongside those taking part at Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park on Sunday. Hailey-Ann has polycystic kidney disease, something she was diagnosed with before she was even born. The Kidney Foundation of Canada chose her as the poster child for their promotion of the walk for the entire B.C. and Yukon region.

“It (the walk) shows us a lot of support,” says Kristina Grant, Hailey-Ann’s mother. “We get to see that we’re not alone in our fight with kidney disease. We get to see other families living with it and other people who come out who just want to show us they want to make a difference.”

Originally from Nanaimo, Grant now lives in Victoria. She has been volunteering with the Kidney Foundation since Hailey-Ann was six months old. She says in 2016 she thought it would be nice to give back in her hometown.

“It’s amazing to be able to come back to your hometown and raise awareness for kidney disease and help raise money…Nanaimo has always been such a huge support for us throughout Hailey-Ann’s journey.”

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Grant says her daughter’s kidneys are very large. They are 13.5 centimetres when they should be more like five. She says a kidney transplant is certainly in her daughter’s future. Her best guess is that it will happen sometime in Hailey-Ann’s late childhood.

According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada one in 10 Canadians has kidney disease. Grant stresses that most people don’t find out they are dealing with a kidney issue until it’s far too late.

“Talk to your doctors about your risk. If you’re in one of the higher risk categories make sure you’re getting your kidney function tested so you can get things under control before you go into kidney failure,” says Grant.

She says the money and awareness raised by the Kidney Walk makes a big difference for the foundation and her family. An area Grant says needs more awareness is organ donation. That hits home for her considering she knows a transplant is in her daughter’s future. Grant says if you’re an O+ blood type you will likely have to wait on dialysis for eight years before a transplant becomes available.

“Registering to be an organ donor is a huge thing…you can save up to eight lives. Being a living donor you give the gift of life to a family like ours.”

As of Sunday afternoon, the Nanaimo walk had raised $18,641 of their $20,000 goal. Grant’s team, Hailey’s Comets, was the top fundraising team with a contribution of $7,085. You can still donate here.