My Family Tree & The 33%

This post was sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation’s “Are You the 33%?” campaign as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I love going through old photos. I still make it a point to print out pictures, even though everything is digital.

There’s just something about holding a photo or an album in your hands and remembering the moment that it was taken.

I also love to sit with my Tia Mimi (Margarita) and listen to her tell me stories about our family. She is my father’s sister and one of my favorite people.

My viejo wasn’t the type to tell me too many stories about his childhood or family. But Tia is a wealth of stories from his childhood and his side of the family.

While I love the part of stories that are comforting and fun, I also want to know our family medical history.

It’s important for me to know what I am at risk for, as well as my kids, because it impacts our risk factors with many diseases.

For example, type 2 diabetes and heart disease increase risk for chronic kidney disease.

My family members who have type 2 diabetes are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Since 33% of adults in the U.S. are at risk for chronic kidney disease and most don’t know it, I at least want to KNOW if I am at risk.

I found out some of the risk factors by encouraging my family members to take a simple quiz at www.MinuteForYourKidneys.org

My Abuelita Ofelia was spunky and sweet. She and my cousin, Gilda, would take my brother and me on our summer trips together. Those trips created my most cherished childhood memories.

Abuelita had type 2 diabetes. So did most of her siblings.

My father, Andres, was a complicated and private man and a tremendously hard worker. He taught me a work ethic that has helped me excel at many things by simply fearlessly outworking my competition.

Dad had type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and heart disease.

Tia Merry (Mercedes), my great aunt and Ofelia’s sister, was a hoot at family parties. She loved getting all dolled up and had an infectious laugh.

Mercedes had type 2 diabetes.

The list goes on and on with my family medical history of type 2 diabetes on my father’s side. So many people had it that I could probably fill an entire album.

You see where I’m going with this.

 My family members who have type 2 diabetes may be at risk, so I’m NOT willing to stay ignorant anymore.

Knowledge is power, and I have the power to prevent and stay on top of the risks.

Here are some truth bombs for you:

• It is important to diagnose and treat chronic kidney disease early.
• This may slow or prevent the progression to kidney failure.
• It may also reduce the risk for complications such as heart disease and stroke.

I invite you to take the quiz for yourself and find out about your own family tree and risk of chronic kidney disease.

I plan on enjoying my family tree for a long time and being the one that my descendants can come to for our stories.

Visit www.MinuteForYourKidneys.org to take the one-minute quiz today.

“Are You the 33%?” chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes campaign is a joint initiative of the National Kidney Foundation and Bayer.