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Dialysis prepared Bill for transplant By Amanda Emery
Although he was dependent on Mile Bluff’s dialysis services for the past seven and half years, Bill says that his diagnosis came at an early age, “The doctors found my kidney disease when my mother took me in for my kindergarten physical. At the age of 15 I received my first kidney transplant; the donor was my father. That operation was a success for about five years, and at the age of 20 I found myself having complications again. In June, 2008 I started the process of signing up for another kidney transplant.” According to Bill, the second transplant was a spur-of-the-moment thing. “After getting on the waiting list in June of 2008, I began to experience more complications. Then one day I received a phone call telling me to be in Madison on December 1 - two days after the call - to get my new kidney.” He says that following the transplant, he now feels better than he ever has in his life. He attributes the services at Mile Bluff for helping him live long enough to receive his third gift of life. “If dialysis had not been offered in Mauston, I would have had to travel to La Crosse for my treatments, and that would have put a lot more stress on me. I am truly grateful that these services were offered locally.” Bill continued, “The staff in Mile Bluff’s dialysis unit is great. Everyone is very nice; if I ever needed or wanted anything, someone would get it for me.” Now that he has received a new lease on life, Bill is looking forward to two things, “I would like to get a full-time job, as well as do a lot of fishing now that I feel like I can.” If you or a loved one is in need of dialysis, you do not need to look any further than Mile Bluff. For more information on the life-saving services that are offered locally, please call 608-847-1065.
Photo Caption: Bill Raiten thanks Mile Bluff’s Dialysis staff for the role they played in keeping him alive until his kidney transplant. |
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Mile Bluff Medical Center/ 1050 Division St./ Mauston, WI 53948 / 608 847 6161 Mile Bluff Medical Center, 1050 Division Street, Mauston, WI 53948 608 847 6161 or Toll free in WI at 800 252 4377 © 2008 Mile Bluff Medical Center |
“If I wouldn’t have had access
to the dialysis treatments at Mile Bluff in Mauston, I may not be here today,”
exclaimed Bill Raiten of Hillsboro, six months after receiving a kidney
transplant.