What My Kidney Taught Me About Being the Perfect Vegan
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I had a partial nephrectomy a few years ago. My surgery had complications, ethical and otherwise. In honor of World Kidney Day I'm telling my story. Your kidneys are so important and need your love, so does your conscience.
What's in this post
Happy World Kidney Day! World Kidney Day is the second Thursday in March and was founded to raise awareness of the importance of our kidneys to overall health. Our kidneys have numerous essential biological roles. Their main job is to remove toxins and excess water from our blood. They also control the blood stream levels of minerals such as sodium and postassium, and help to control blood acidity. Every day your kidneys carefully control the salt and water in your body so that your blood pressure remains the same.
I got up close and personal with my own kidneys after discovering that one of mine did not function. As a result, I had a partial nephrectomy- now I only have one kidney. My surgery had complications, ethical and otherwise. I told my story in 2012 hoping that, by sharing, it would help someone else who may have to be in the same place I was. I’m reprinting it today in honor of World Kidney Day. Your kidneys are so important and need your love, so does your conscience.
Photo credit (above): World Kidney Day Organization
I’m Not a Perfect Vegan
(originally posted March 13, 2012)
Alright, we’ll wait. But just until tomorrow, if your levels don’t change by then- we must do it. Otherwise….”
My surgeon trailed off because he knew he didn’t have to reiterate the situation any more, I knew what he was talking about. I had just had a partial nephrectomy due to a birth defect and there were complications. I had iron deficiency anemia, my red blood cells couldn’t replenish themselves after my surgery- I was basically suffocating. Or, my organs were suffocating without the oxygen that the red blood cells bring them. I needed a blood transfusion.
By the time that I agreed to the transfusion, I was very sick. I no longer held onto any delusions that I had a choice at all, I just turned my head away from my arm that was being fed the reddest blood I’d ever seen in my life. I wondered then, as I do now, whose blood had I received? What were they like? Why did they chose to donate blood? Did they eat animals?
Sounds silly, I know. But it’s a strange thing to lay there and see someone’s blood going into your body. Staying awake that night I thought about all the animals that made my recovery possible. The first successful nephrectomy took place on August 2, 1869 by a man named Gustav Simon, who admits to practicing on animals for years before attempting it on a human.
The medication that I received; the anesthetic, the morphine, the anti-inflamatory, the anti-nausea, antibiotic, aspirin, and something designed to help reduce the fluid in my internal cavities- they were all tested on animals before administering them to me. Without the role that the animals played in my surgery- I may not be here typing on my Mac. It both humbles me and makes me sad
I’ve been vegan for seven years. Throughout this time I’ve been told that I will never truly or fully be vegan [as there is no such thing] because of insert animal or animal by-product here. Usually topping this list are cars, computers, and medications.
I’m not going to say that those things are vegan, they aren’t. Animal use is institutionalized. Even the most careful vegan consumes small amounts of animal product because we are forced to live in a non-vegan world. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don’t let unattainable perfection prevent you from rejecting every animal product (and by-product) that you can.
From deciphering food labels, all the way to critically rethinking everything you’ve ever been taught about the rights of animals- veganism isn’t always black and white. Being vegan is a journey that is filled with people doing the best they can to muddle through a life filled with animal-laden obstacles. It’s about doing our best and encouraging others to do their best. Then, true change will come.
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HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.
Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…
hello,
my names are Robert Lawson, a 38 years old, the doctor confirm that my two kidney well OK, and i want to give out one of them to who ever needs it, because in my life i made a var that i will save life know matter what it will take from me. of what use it is to me if i can not help that one ding soul. do not ask me why, because it is what i have made up my mind to do.
i pray that you will not die but live.
You can contact me on Email: [email protected]
Mr Lawson.
I really appreciate this post! People often tell me that I can’t be vegan because I take two medications to treat chronic conditions. I tell them living a vegan lifestyle to the best of my ability and speaking out for animals is infinitely easier when you are, in fact, alive. I have Type 1 diabetes. While the insulin I take is of human derivative, I know a great deal of animal testing went into finding that treatment. Obviously, though, I can’t stop taking insulin, and it really annoys me when people use that against my choice of lifestyle.
Sorry for rambling. My point is, you’ve written a very important post that will be helpful to many! Take good care of yourself!
–Charis
@Charis – Thank you for your comment. I agree, advocacy works best with those who are alive to do it. It’s not an easy decision when we’re ill or need medical treatments to align our ethics with our illnesses. I hope that by sharing more of our stories that it can help others in the similar situations. Medications aren’t vegan…yet. The harder we work to bring the vegan evolution to the masses, the quicker alternatives to these medications will be found. I appreciate your story and wish you happiness and health as well :)