Kidney Warrior

In July 2019, Hellnback and Lisa visited her homelands and one summer evening, he could barely hold his breath. As concerns grew into worry, Karmen would be rushed to the Cross Lake nursing station and would be diagnosed with Stage 5 Kidney Failure. All the symptoms leading up, which appeared to be a minor flu to the ignoramus would turn into a point of return, changing up the path and walking in a new journey, the kidney journey. 

Stage 5 Kidney Failure means that your kidneys are severely damaged and very close to failing or have already stopped, in some people. The low functioning kidney can cause an array of symptoms as the kidneys are near failure and can no longer filter waste out of your body. This can cause waste products to build up in your body that can make you very ill or near death. To treat kidney failure is to begin a form of dialysis which is a machine or mechanism/system to filter blood outside of your body and to go back in your body. This is a silent epidemic plaguing First Nation community across the country. 

Today Karmen is at 4% kidney function and has been doing his very best to maintain a healthy weight and adhering to the kidney friendly diet. Since his diagnosis, he’s been through many hoops and challenges with his health. In 2023, he suffered a massive brain seizure in Alberta during his short stay. Returning to Manitoba, he is continuing the process of transplant testing. Karmen Omeasoo is a hemodialysis patient at the Seven Oaks Hospital. He says that even through the toughest battle of his life, he prays for a new kidney and will continue to make music for his fans and children. 

Karmen is an O- blood type and only 7 percent have O negative blood. Due to its versatility, it is high in demand and short in supply in hospitals, according to Canadian Blood Services. Karmen would need an O negative match or may take the steps for the Kidney Paired Donation program. If you would like to learn more about Karmen’s health condition, please visit the following links: 

Kidney Paired Donation Program: https://www.blood.ca/en/organs-tissues/living-organ-donation/kidney-paired-donation

Manitoba Renal Program: https://www.kidneyhealth.ca/

National Kidney Foundation: Stage 5 Kidney Failure: https://www.kidney.org/