Renal Support Network

19th Annual Essay Contest Theme: “Who is Your Healthcare Hero?” This year the theme is all about the champions on your healthcare team. Tell a story about a healthcare professional who went the extra mile and improved your experience of care.

RSN looks forward to hearing these stories and honoring those who work so hard to keep everyone safe during these challenging times especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

RSN’s Annual Essay Contest provides a unique opportunity for people who are living with any stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD), including people on dialysis and kidney transplant recipients, to share their courage with the world by expressing their ideas, experiences, and most importantly, hope. And a chance to win money and bragging rights!

Lori Hartwell, RSN’s founder and president, author of Chronically Happy: Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Illness, and host of KidneyTalk Podcast, says, “People who live successfully with a chronic illness like kidney disease know firsthand the importance of their healthcare advocate.” She added, “The RSN Essay Contest provides those people living with kidney disease a forum where they can share their experiences with healthcare professionals who go above and beyond in the services they provide. I look forward to hearing these stories and honoring those who work so hard to keep everyone safe during these challenging times especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Contest winners will receive cash prizes: First Place, $500; Second Place, $300; and Third Place, $100. The submission deadline is August 10, 2021. Winners will be announced on the week of September 21, 2021, and winning essays will be featured in RSN’s publication KidneyTalk™ Magazine and on RSNHope.org.

Read and Listen to the Winning Essay of the 18^th Annual Essay Contest:

Here is what the winners had to say about their experience writing their essays:

“My experience with this contest has been great. Writing an essay about my diagnosis was really cathartic for me. Being able to share my story with others is an honor. I am very open about my diagnosis and limitations with everyone. It is a part of who I am but it does NOT define who I am.”–Kristin Brunstein, 1^st Place Winner, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“My experience doing the renal essay has been eye opening for me. I now know that I would really like to inform people on how to just live being on dialysis.”–Makeisha West, 3^rd Place Winner 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“Actually I thought it would be tough to write an essay after being away from academics for so many years.  But it really was so much easier writing about a topic I knew very well.  My social worker Kattie Holland brought this contest to my attention and I thought this would be the perfect vehicle to bring my story to others.”–Joseph Hardison, 4^th Place Winner, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“I love to write and jumped at the chance to share the dietary challenges of living with CKD and to brag on my clinic dietician, Shannon!”–Mike Gothard, President’s Pick, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“I love this contest! It is such a wonderful way to give a voice to kidney patients and such a great creative outlet. This year’s theme was very fun to write on, as the kidney diet has been one of my biggest struggles (and triumphs) as a patient.”–Joy Araujo, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“The subject of this essay contest piqued my interest because I had had a very challenging time making peace with food on the renal diet, after having spent years making peace with food, in general, due to a lifelong eating disorder.”–Sheri Sinykin, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“This essay has prompted me to stay on course and share as often as possible my method of motivational moderation.”– Rev. Marjie Dozier, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“I really enjoyed doing this Essay and the many challenges I have faced . My dialysis dictionary is how i digest everyday livings and the agenda to maintaining a healthy environment especially in today new Bubble World.”– John Burris, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“I have so enjoyed reading the entries from prior years with the great information and encouragement they gave me that I decided to enter this years contest hoping my experiences also would be helpful to other kidney patient’s.”– Debra Dansie Anderson, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“I enjoyed the opportunity to write for the contest.  I love writing, so being able to join that skill with something personal to me such as my recovery journey was a very healing and enjoyable task; for me as well as my wife.”– Josh Mackenstein, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“I was invited to submit my essay by dialysis staff, and my goal was to honestly express my own truths about my renal diet, hoping that some readers might find some common ground with my struggles.”–David Wills, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

“Pain doesn’t make one suffer, it makes one stronger. It is the inability of not knowing how long the pain will last that makes one truly suffer.”–Rev. Marjie Dozier, Honorable Mention, 18^th Annual Essay Contest

The 18th Annual Essay Contest theme was Thriving No Matter What I can Eat: A Happy Food Experience on the Kidney Diet. “Food is always a favorite topic,” says Lori Hartwell, President and Founder of RSN, “But when you have kidney disease your diet can be challenging. We have a following of amazing writers, and they were up to the task of delivering thought-provoking, insightful, and often humorous accounts of their dietary journeys. RSN has a panel of judges to help us determine the essay winners. It was a tough choice this year. We received over 100 essays from across the United States and we are grateful to everyone who took the time to share a personal story. I read each essay with pride, tears, and admiration for the courage of my peers. In addition to this year’s essay winners, we wanted to acknowledge 10 outstanding essays with honorable mentions. We are asking each essay winner to record their story. And, to have a broader reach of inspiration and hope, RSN will have them translated into Spanish.”

RSN’s book of essays “Hope, Inspiration & Wisdom: A Treasury of Thoughts on Coping with Kidney Disease” is available for purchase.
Order the Printed Book for $14.95 or the Kindle Book for $6.99

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