Kidney Walk to take place in Monck Park

Back in December 2021, Marcus and Heather Ouimet started to notice their daughter, Marissa, develop a cough. Initially they thought nothing of it and had assumed it will just go away on its own. However during New Year’s Day her condition got worse.

“We were sitting around a fire and she started feeling a little nauseous,” said Marcus Ouimet. “Up until that point she was feeling just fine.”

After bringing her to the Nicola Valley General Hospital, it was presumed that there might be complications with young Marissa’s kidneys.

“They sent us to Kamloops with her creatinine levels being through the roof and it wasn’t getting any better,” Ouimet recalled.

“They narrowed it down to her kidneys but they didn’t know exactly why they are being a problem or what exactly the issue was.”

Creatinine levels are checked if it is assumed that a patient may have kidney problems. Ouimet learned that kidney failures are degenerative, with issues developing over time, whereas, Marissa’s condition was “very acute, fast, and hard hitting.”

Marissa’s condition rapidly got worse after a few days and she had to be flown to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

“She was feeling very nauseous, sick, and tired,” Ouimet explained. “She ended up there and had a biopsy and more tests until it was determined that it was ANCA Vasculitis.”

ANCA Vasculitis is a very rare autoimmune disease where the Anti-Neutrophilic Cytoplasmic Autoantibodies are causing inflammation of blood vessels. The inflammation could lead to potential organ failures, most commonly, the kidneys.

“She quickly went to stage 5 kidney failure, which is the end of life for the kidneys,” Ouimet explained.

“They put her on hemodialysis and the only place in BC and Yukon where that service is available is in Vancouver.”

Later on, Marissa switched to a peritoneal dialysis treatment which could be done from home as she awaits for a kidney transplant.

Throughout Marissa’s journey, the Ouimets’ have been able to utilize the resources provided by the Kidney Foundation of Canada. Now, the family is looking to give back by organizing Merritt’s first kidney walk. The money raised from this event will go towards the foundation’s many services, programs, and research to find a cure for kidney disease.

The past few months have been hard on the Ouimet family as they’ve dealt with Marissa’s condition. The couple had to drop their everyday lives to focus on their daughter and arrangements had to be made as they went down the coast.

“My son had to stay with my parents, my dog had to go in a kennel, and we had to relocate to Vancouver for a period of months,” Ouimet explained.

“It’s a very stressful time as a parent because you don’t know what’s wrong and you’re trying to figure it out.”

Ouimet noted that he and his family are very grateful for all the support they received from friends, family and different organizations such as the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

The foundation offered a plethora of resources including housing for parents of children with kidney conditions.

“One of the big things is, for children from the interior, Vancouver is the only place they can go for these issues,” Ouimet explained.

“It can take months or even longer to resolve these things so it’s a bit of a challenge.”

The Kidney Foundation also offers valuable information for families trying to learn more about kidney diseases and how to properly treat them.

“They provide a lot of resources for diet and nutrition; what to eat, what not to eat, and online recipes,” said Ouimet.

“They also have a bunch of informative videos for the parents’ own learning.”

After Marissa came home, Marcus and Heather started reflecting back on their experience which led to them discussing how to give back to the Kidney Foundation.

“The biggest thing is knowing that there is no cure for a kidney disease,” he explained.

“Dialysis is a treatment not a cure and being able to contribute not only to housing and financial needs, but also in research for a cure is huge. That’s why we decided to help this organization out.”

The family had decided to join the nation-wide virtual walk happening on Sunday, June 5. Their team ‘I Just Want Water’, named by Marissa, will be walking five kilometres at Monck Park.

“I chose the name ‘I Just Want Water’ because I have a fluid restriction so I’m always really thirsty and it just popped into my head.”

The 15-year-old is the eldest of two Ouimet children. She is a Grade 10 student, attending Merritt Secondary School and is also a proud member of the Nicola Valley Skating Club. Due to her condition, she had missed considerable time in school and needed to put skating on hold. She will, however, be taking part in Sunday’s walk.

“She’s a trooper! She’s going to be there along with everyone else,” said Marcus Ouimet. “It gives her a good feeling to know that she’s a part of giving back.”

Since promoting the walk, I just Want Water had to move their goal amount raised twice. They are currently aiming for $6000.

“We had a goal of $500 and we’ve raised over $5000 now,” said Ouimet. “The support has been overwhelming and it’s definitely helping with awareness as there’s a need for something like this in our area.”

The walk will be taking place on Sunday, June 5, at 9:30 am in Monck Park. There will also be a 50-50 draw done at 10 am to help with the fundraiser. For people interested in donating or joining in the walk, please visit ijustwantwater.com.