Fliss

Til it's Done! :)

Doing this walk is so important to me. 

I want to help my beloved family members who have kidney disease. My sister and I are focused on smashing our goals and getting it done. 

Doing this fundraiser has its own unique set of challenges for me personally. It’s not a walk in the park! 😊 You may or may not realise but I have a major balance issue. I have the balance of a one-year-old baby walking on soft sand for the first time. This means walking is quite tiring for me, even on paths as flat as a pancake and with special hiking poles. After a while, my balance feels like I’m walking in water and doesn’t wanna take one step further and ‘tries’ to throw in the towel. But I won’t let it stop me. I push on. Because, at least I'm not hooked up to a dialysis machine. My knee hurts. Every footfall sends a new shockwave of pain deep in the joint. But I still walk.

Because I'm free from worry about if my transplanted kidney will stay healthy.  After a walk, I get tinnitus from my balance being overworked. But I press on because I’m lucky to have two healthy functioning kidneys. I will never take this for granted. Because of my balance and injuries, I can only walk every second day. My family member has to have dialysis every second day, so I feel I am in tandem with them. However, I LOOK forward to my walks! (despite how they make me feel afterwards) I’m sure no one looks forward to being strapped to a machine for hours and hours. So I press on. I also ride an exercise bike indoors. I put on some ROCK music and rock it out!!! It's like a party!! I enjoy this. But being outside is always, always better!

Years ago, before my balance went out the window – I used to LOVE jogging. It was my favourite thing to do. Every afternoon I’d go for a jog around our very hilly property. This is probably why my knees are shot now but #worthit!  Whilst I can no longer jog, or even be on my feet walking for a long time. I realise I am very privileged because I still have the freedom to walk when I want to. I’m not hooked up to a machine several times a week that dictates what I can do and when I can do it  I don’t have to worry about my transplanted kidney. I can just be. Enjoy walking. Enjoy being outdoors. Knowing every footstep my sister and I are taking is helping to raise awareness and funds for our beloved family members and other Australians who need our support. Together we can do it all. And we will. Because we’re not hooked up to a dialysis machine.