“”Everyone has a story”” is a weekly segment in the Arizona Daily Wildcat that aims to tell the story of an interesting person on the UA campus. This week, the Daily Wildcat interviewed Jessica Hahn, a journalism senior whose 23-year-old sister Kristin was diagnosed with kidney failure in August 2008. The family will be holding a fundraiser to raise money for Kristin’s kidney transplant.
Doctors have no idea how or why Kristin Hahn, Jessica Hahn’s sister, got kidney failure.
“”What was odd about my sister Kristin’s situation was that this sickness doesn’t run in our family at all,”” Jessica said.
Kristin found out about her condition while she was getting surgery on her anklebone. Doctors noticed gout, which is a build up of uric acid levels in the blood that crystallizes in the joints of the feet. Gout is also a sign of underlying kidney issues, so Kristin was then tested and diagnosed with kidney failure.
Kristin has been waiting for a kidney transplant since August 2008.
“”I’ve asked her what her kidney failure is like, and she says it hasn’t changed her very much,”” Jessica said. “”She’s fighting, working a full-time job at Walgreens.
“”The fact that she’s still going is amazing to a lot of people. There are times when I want to give up on a major or a class, and then I realize how silly it is to stress about failing a class while my sister is seriously ill and still going strong,”” Jessica added.
Though Kristin’s kidney only functions at 13 percent capacity, she tries to live as if she doesn’t have any health problems.
“”She should be bedbound, but she’s up going to work every day, going to parties, playing with my 1-year-old son. She’s your average 23-year-old with a minor side effect,”” Jessica said.
With kidney failure, Kristin must have a diet low in potassium and dairy. She’s also on several medications and receives a certain amount of shots every month.
Life isn’t always easy for the Hahn family.
“”One day, she was taking a medication that was high in iron, and one of the side effects it gave Kristin was Steven Johnson Syndrome,”” Jessica said.
Steven Johnson Syndrome is a life-threatening condition in which the skin dries out and flakes off the body.
“”What was sadder was that she walked into the hospital and said she had Steven Johnson’s Syndrome, and she was told to have a seat. She said to them, ‘You realize I can die from this, right?’ and was still instructed to stay in the waiting room. If they’d taken an hour longer to get her in the see a doctor, she could have died,”” Jessica said.
The Hahn family will be holding a Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament at Fox & Hound on April 25 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. to raise money for a kidney donor.
The tickets are $30 each and only 50 tickets will be sold. There will be prizes, including a Budweiser tabletop and a 300-piece poker gift set.
Call Jerry Hahn at 245-1581 to purchase tickets.
Donations can be made to the Kristin Hahn Medical Donation Account —
Wells Fargo account number: 8506246118
