Nine Log Cabins

Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. Every year roughly 50,000 Americans died from kidney disease. Kidneys are the bean-shaped organs responsible for cleaning waste and extra fluid from the blood. Most people have two good ones, but you can get by with one. If your kidneys aren’t doing their job, dialysis can help. But machines are no replacement; in the end the best thing they can do is buy you time. That’s why Wayne Winters is walking the streets of Far West wearing a sign that encourages people to become living donors. His wife DeAnna is waiting for a matching kidney. Until then she’ll spend four hours a day, three days a week hooked up to a kidney machine. “She doesn’t like it,” says Wayne. “It’s terrible.” So he pounds the pavement. “After I get a kidney I’ll have my wife back the way she was, helping people and loving people.”