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Patient Wins National Contest

Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Cody Dale Saunders, 14, of Maryville, was recently honored in Washington, D.C., as a winner of the American Kidney Fund’s 12th annual national art contest for children with kidney disease.

Diagnosed with the condition at birth, Cody is currently a hemodialysis patient at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. “Being on dialysis keeps me from doing things that normal kids do,” he says.

Cody’s drawing, “Football Game,” illustrates the month of November in the American Kidney Fund’s 2008 “Kid”ney Calendar. “It’s my favorite sport,” he says, “and my brother used to play.”

The American Kidney Fund provides financial assistance to kidney patients and education to people who are at risk of developing kidney disease. Approximately 2,300 children are on dialysis, and another 4,900 are living with kidney transplants in the U.S. alone. The fund helped more than 63,000 kidney patients in 2006, distributing $81.9 million in grants.

The 2008 “Kid”ney Calendar costs $10 and can be ordered by calling 800.638.8299 or by visiting www.kidneyfund.org.