Paulette Ford has spent eight years on hemodialysis, which mechanically filters wastes and extra fluid from her blood. Ford receives dialysis three times a week for three-and-a-half hours a session.

And so it goes for Paulette Ford.

Three days a week, she trudges over to the Kidney Center and ties into a dialysis machine for about three-and-a-half hours each session.

“Some days are better than others,” she said.

For the last eight years, Ford has made the best of it by listening to music or watching television. “Mostly, I study,” she said, proudly proclaiming that she wants to receive all A’s from Roxbury Community College so she can transfer to Simmons College to study nursing.

At the age of 28, she already knows more about chronic kidney failure than most.

Ford was diagnosed at 15. The medications prescribed at the time were unable to prevent the debilitating condition; five years later, doctors discovered that she had lost 95 percent of her kidney function. Dialysis was her only recourse at the time.

At first, she didn’t know what to expect. “I was very angry — scared and angry,” she explained. “But over time, it’s gotten easier.”

It might be getting easier for Ford, but there’s nothing easy about kidney disease. Full story

‘Don’t ignore symptoms’

As far as Gerald White knew, he was a good athlete and as healthy as could be.

Although a test showed White had excessive protein in his urine, a sure sign of potential kidney problems, and a subsequent kidney biopsy determined that his organ’s filtering system was out of whack, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst cleared him to play football.

“I was in great shape,” he recalled “I had no visible symptoms. I felt good.” Full story