PKD Life - Fall 2020 - 21

Dawn Rice,
43, Shirley,
New York
Growing up in
a household where PKD was
an everyday topic and seeing many loved ones fight
this disease, I knew one day I
would get a tattoo for PKD. I
thankfully do not have PKD,
but my dad, brother, uncle,
and cousins all do. I have
lost several [relatives] to
this disease.

When my dad started
dialysis 19 years ago, my
twin sister and I spoke about
getting one together, but life
got in the way. We decided
for our 40th, we would do it.
It was hard finding something that was different from
what other people had and
that had a special meaning
to me. They say that the ones
we love never truly leave us
and that every time you see
a cardinal, it's a loved one
who passed visiting you. I
checked multiple Google
images and came across a
feather in black with the
ribbon half in pink, and I
thought, "Wow, a cardinal
feather in red representing loved ones and the
PKD ribbon in teal would
be different."

Linda Roney, 72, New
Port Richey, Florida
I do not have PKD
myself, but my husband
of 43 years passed [from PKD] in 2010.
My son Michael, who was 21 at the
time, wanted to donate a kidney to his
dad. When he was tested, he found out
that he also had PKD. I have two sons
who both have PKD and two grandchildren of six so far, with the possibility of more being diagnosed. My heart
just breaks for them.
Not being a tattoo person, especially
at my age, I had thought about doing
this for some time to honor my family
members who have PKD. The words
are self-explanatory: hope for a cure,
strength to overcome, and faith to
help them through this terrible ordeal.
The butterfly represents life.

P K D C U R E .O R G

PKD_FA20_18-21_Feature_Tattoos.indd 21

9/23/20 8:57 AM

http://www.PKDCURE.ORG

PKD Life - Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PKD Life - Fall 2020