Barb's Brigade

On September 20, Steve's sister, Julie, organized a team for their mom, Barb, called "Barb's Brigade" for the Des Moines Walk for PDK.

Their grandma and now their mom have unfortunately both been afflicted with this disease.

Here is the information Julie posted for those who are not familiar with PDK:

For 25 years, the PKD Foundation has led the fight against Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) through vital research funding and patient education. Now, 16 clinical trials offer help and hope to the 12.5 million newborns, children and adults, worldwide, with PKD. As many of you know in the fall of 2003 my mom was diagnosed with PKD, the same disease my grandmother passed away from in 1997. Most people aren’t familiar with the disease unless they know someone who has lived with it, so I will give you a brief background on the disease and its effects with information I obtained from www.pkdcure.org.· PKD affects 1 in 500 people and comes in two forms ADPKD and ARPKD. · ADPKD is one of the most common life-threatening genetic diseases. ADPKD is not just a kidney disorder; other organs can be affected, including the liver, spleen, pancreas, and intestines.· ARPKD is a rare genetic disorder that affects approximately 1 in 20,000 individuals· A normal kidney is the size of a human fist and weighs about a third of a pound. However, with the presence of PKD, cysts develop in both kidneys. When many cysts develop, the kidneys can grow to be the size of a football or larger and weigh as much as 38 pounds each. There may be just a few cysts or many, and the cysts may range in size from a pinhead to the size of a grapefruit· There is currently no treatment or cure for PKD.