Gratitude from a Nurse Who Had Two Kidney Transplants

March is National Kidney Month. The average cost of a kidney transplant in the United States ranges from $300,000 to $500,000. This figure includes pre-transplant evaluations, the surgery itself, post-operative care, immunosuppressant medications, and follow-up appointments. Programs like CT Paid Leave can help with up to 12 weeks of income replacement while you heal from major surgery.
 
 Nick Arsenault is a seasoned nurse who's navigated his own two kidney transplants, all while continuing to hold down his job. Nick talks about the challenges he faced physically and emotionally during the process, and complications that came up during his fight with kidney disease. Nick used CT Paid Leave twice and considered it to be crucial to his healing process, allowing him time away from work so he could focus on his health. He utilized CT Paid Leave for his second transplant to supplement his company's short-term disability.  He considered the program to be a lifeline, because he was able to cover his bills while he was at home recovering. He also talks about the importance of asking for help if you are struggling with the reality of your health crisis. He talks about his journey with therapy to help with the emotional toll of undergoing dialysis and facing a kidney transplant. He now tells his patients that is it important not to neglect your mental health, because it is key to your overall health. Nick is currently using intermittent leave under the CT Paid Leave program to deal with issues that developed during his second transplant. He talks about living with a chronic health condition and the need for ongoing medical appointments and medications. Nick is now 2 years out from his last transplant and says he is thankful every day.
 
 To find out more information about Hartford Hospitals Transplant program ; Transplant | hartfordhospital.org | Hartford Hospital | Hartford, CT

To get in touch with the Kidney Foundation of CT: NKF Serving Connecticut | National Kidney Foundation

For more information or to apply for benefits go to: CT Paid Leave

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Transcript

Nancy Barrow: 0:01

Hello Connecticut and welcome to The Paid Leave Podcast. The title basically says it all. I'm Nancy Barrow and I will be delving into this new state program and how it can help you and your family. This podcast will give you information you should know about Connecticut Paid Leave, and maybe just a little bit more. Connecticut Paid Leave brings peace of mind to your home, family and workplace. Welcome to The Paid Leave Podcast. March is National Kidney month. Your kidneys filter all of your blood up to 25 times a day! Your kidneys help remove waste and excess fluid. It filters the blood. It controls the production of red blood cells. It makes vitamins that control growth and release hormones that help regulate your blood. If you have diabetes, or high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of kidney disease, or if you're over the age of 65, talk with a health care professional about your risk for kidney disease. If you end up needing a kidney transplant, once you're added to the national organ transplant waiting list, you may receive an organ fairly quickly or you may have to wait many years. Connecticut Paid Leave can help by giving up to 12 weeks of income replacement when you need it for your own serious health condition, or that of a loved one. Connecticut Paid Leave also covers chronic conditions for appointments, treatments or flare ups. If you're having kidney issues, or you need a transplant. My expert on kidney transplants is Nick Arsenault, who's a registered nurse for over 18 years. And he joins me to talk about his journey to get new kidneys, and how he used Connecticut Paid Leave to help ease the burdens of finances. Welcome to the podcast Nick, nice to see you.

Nick Arsenault: 1:51

Thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited to finally be able to have this conversation today.

Nancy Barrow: 1:55

Well, let's start at the beginning chronologically. Let's talk about your health, and when you notice something wasn't quite right with you, and when you found out it was kidneys.

Nick Arsenault: 2:04

To make a very long story short, I mean, I knew I had some kidney issues, you know, from when I was a kid, just you know what genetic syndrome that runs in my family. But it wasn't, you know, doctors always said it wouldn't probably be till I was in my 40s maybe 50s when there might, might be an issue. But sure enough, right out in nursing school around 2006, you know, started not feeling well into you know, my new job, my new role. And, you know, one of the staff members I worked with him to the hospital was like, you know, what, you probably should just go get checked out, just make sure it's nothing going on. Well, lo and behold sure enough, you know, got some blood work done while I was there, and one of the kidney doctors sure enough that I worked with came in and I'm like, why are you here? And he, I was like, It's my kidneys, isn't it? And he said, Yeah, unfortunately, I was in the hospital for about a week just to kinda, you know, get my blood pressure under control, had to actually start dialysis pretty much immediately right then and there. So basically, kind of like you said, once I was stabilized, I was discharged home. You know, I got connected with a nephrologist and the community and started connecting with them. They're the ones who really took over for really the first four years of my kidney journey, really, I guess you could call it to get me on dialysis, and you know, helped me get that all under control. And because I was so young and otherwise healthy besides the kidney issues, you know, they said I was a good candidate for possible kidney transplant.

Nancy Barrow: 3:35

So when they said transplant, it must have been overwhelming for you.

Nick Arsenault: 3:40

It definitely was, you know, especially kind of like you said, I've been a nurse for a very long time. And, you know, I was I was a baby nurse at the time. But you know, of course learned about transplant in kind of general terms in nursing school, but you know, it's not something you really think is going to be in your own sort of, you know, background or you know, a vocabulary that you're going to use. And so it was kind of a big deal. It's like, I'm potentially going to be having to need an organ from someone else to stay healthy, you know, continue living a healthy life as best as possible. I mean, dialysis is great for what it can do. But, you know, they always will tell you, you know, a fresh healthy kidney, there's nothing that replaces that. So it was definitely a big reality check at the time.

Nancy Barrow: 4:27

How stressful is dialysis?

Nick Arsenault: 4:29

It's it's very, very stressful. I definitely had a lot my share of ups and downs but they you know, dialysis in and of itself is you know, just a treatment it just helps to filter the blood, you know, remove you know, the waste products, the toxins that our bodies make on a day to day basis. It helps to manage your blood pressure, your kidneys helps to regulate your bone health. There's so much that they do. Yeah, but you don't realize until they're not working properly. So dialysis is great for what it is to be able to help kind of stabilize things. But it really only replaces, you know, small percentage of your actual kidney function to keep you healthy. So a lot of fatigue, a lot of medication management, a lot of appointment follow up. And it depends on the type of dialysis, you're on too, if you're going to a clinic, three to four days a week. I was fortunate that I could actually do it at home every night. So I was able to actually still work full time during then I look back now 20 years (laughter) And I don't know how I did it, then yeah, wow. You're what you got to do sometimes. So it's definitely it's definitely almost a full time job really.

Nancy Barrow: 5:41

How did your friends and family respond to the news that you needed a kidney? And how did you find a kidney donor? It was a living donor?

Nick Arsenault: 5:51

For my first transplant, yes. So what ended up happening is, you know, my family, they weren't necessarily shocked that this was happening, they were shocked it was happening at such a young age, of course, because we knew there would be potential concerns down the road as I got older. But you know, in your early 20s, not exactly what you're anticipating. But they were immensely supportive. You know, unfortunately, because the potential for kidney issues runs in my family, like my brother and my dad, and you know, their own health concerns, you know, they weren't able to actually, you know, potentially be a living donor for me, because the doctors didn't want to risk their health or anything like that. But otherwise, you know, a lot of friends of mine, especially my colleagues who are in healthcare also, that really understand that, you know, they were really such a rallying force to say, like, let's see what we can do. Like, let's look for how we can get the word out for a living donor. And sure enough, it ended up actually for my first kidney transplant in 2010 was actually one of the nurses that I had worked with at the time.

Nancy Barrow: 6:58

Awwww, that's such a sweet story.

Nick Arsenault: 7:01

(laughter) Yeah I still get goosebumps every time I think about it, because you know, just for someone to so selflessly want to give part of themselves to help me live a healthy life and stay alive and be with my family, and still work and travel and all of those things. It's just such an immense blessing and gift all wrapped up in a big, kind of like that Lexus commercial at the holidays, a big red bow on top of everything. I mean, it's really such a life life changing thing, once you get a transplant, how different you can feel after.

Nancy Barrow: 7:33

Yeah walk me through that day, you're preparing to go into surgery. And you know, this other person, this nurse who is such a wonderfully, selfless human being is also undergoing surgery at the same time. What was going through your brain, when you were going through that?

Nick Arsenault: 7:49

I don't think it really like clicked with me until I was actually going into the operating room for myself. Because they actually had me and my living donor, she was literally in the pre-op area right next to me. So like we went there so early in the morning together, and because the way the timing and process works, you know, they take the donor first to start the surgery process to take her kidney. So it just felt very unreal, and the whole time I'm like, are you sure if this is what you really want to do, you know, you can back out. And, you know, I love you to all ends of the earth, you know, even if this doesn't work, or you just change your mind, because it's such a big decision. But I remember going in and they were like this is happening this is you know, we're getting ready. And you know, seeing my doctors and all of that it just kind of was like overwhelming wow.

Nancy Barrow: 8:45

And then after that the aftercare. Tell me about what your recuperation was after you got the kidney transplant.

Nick Arsenault: 8:52

Yeah, so I mean, it could be a little different for everybody. A kidney from a living donor tends to what they call "wake up" much more quickly. Sometimes they can be a little sleepy when it goes from one person to another person's body that's not you know, their natural home. I was fortunate that when I first got her kidney, it woke up right away, it started functioning right away. So even though I felt uncomfortable with you know, the surgical pain after, and of course all the medications the start you on with like suppressing your immune system. It really felt like a night and day difference when I was already even in the recovery room. Because of course you know, you're retaining all these like, you know, the toxins and everything that the dialysis doesn't always keep up with that well. And I just remember the first thing I looked at like the palms of my hands, I was like, Oh, I haven't seen pink palms and like a really long time.

Nancy Barrow: 9:53

Wow, that's funny that you noticed that right away.

Nick Arsenault: 9:56

I'm like back in. Even my he was already feeling different? It was just remarkable to say like, whoa, like Holy smokes, like you don't realize like how tired you are, or how rundown you are until you start experiencing what it's like to feel well, again. Yeah. And then it was just, you know, kind of onward and upward from there.

Nancy Barrow: 10:23

Yeah, I know a lot of people use social media or even billboards to try to get a donor, you were really lucky that you found someone that you worked with. And how did she recover?

Nick Arsenault: 10:33

She recovered extremely well. You know, even that day, right, once we got to our rooms on the transplant unit, where we went to for after surgery care, that afternoon, she was already you know, you know, us nurses were tough, but, you know, they already had us like, up and walking, you know, right that day just to help promote the recovery. And, you know, there she comes tooling into my room with her little IV pole, and you know, a smile on her face. And she's like, oh it's definitely a bit more uncomfortable than, you know, I expected but she's like, I'm just so happy to see you're already doing so well, you know, in how you're feeling. And it's just kind of one of those things that, you know, I may not see her every single day or talk to her every single day. But it's still like, I still have this personal connection to you literally. 24/7.

Nancy Barrow: 11:24

So tell me about your second kidney transplant.

Nick Arsenault: 11:26

Yeah so that's a journey of itself, too, you know, you know, unfortunately, I have, even with the medications as good as they are, you know, I had experienced a rejection episode with that first kidney around 2016. And unfortunately, you know, they were able to take do a really great job stopping, you know, the immediate rejection, but what they call the chronic or long term reduction, unfortunately, didn't, doesn't really go away. But they were able to at least control the symptoms, and you know, the management of that kidney for pretty much good close to almost actually closer to almost six years, which is actually, you know, really good, all things considered. And unfortunately, by around 2020, is when my kidney function with my first transplant really was starting to get to the point of, you know, you're not quite at kidney failure yet, but you're getting closer. Your numbers are, you know, really starting to get borderline, but you qualify to get back on the transplant waitlist, even though I didn't need dialysis again, at that point yet. But of course, it's you know, just a reality of oh shoot, I might need dialysis again. But, you know, armed with my previous experience, you know, goes a long way with kind of helping where you're at now. So I definitely was much more proactive this time around, you know, sharing my story, like you said, on social media. And you know, the magnets on the side of my car, my partners car some friends of mine for work had ones but their cars being like, can someone help get tested. Definitely had probably a few handful of people get tested, but unfortunately, you know, their matching wasn't for me. But I was on the waitlist, like I said, and, you know, surprisingly enough, because I'm Type O, the wait time can be a little bit longer. You know, my blood type is typically the universal donor, not the universal recipient. So I can only take a kidney, that's a type O to begin with. So the wait time tends to be a bit longer. But that was in about 2020, I got put on the waitlist. A nd it was a Sunday afternoon of all times on an April Sunday that I got the call from heart for transplant being Hey, we actually have a match for you. And it's like, seriously, really, you're calling me like this isn't real, you know, I'm supposed to still have at least another three, four, maybe five years before I might even be, you know, high enough on the list to have a match. But they were just like, no we're completely serious. You're, you know, this one really matches you the best with where you're at. So that completely threw me through a loop not expecting that and, you know, gotta hurry up, get to the hospital within, you know, an hour.

Nancy Barrow: 14:18

Oh my gosh!

Nick Arsenault: 14:19

We start all the blood work, you know, final X rays, EKG like Final cross matching and everything. It was definitely a lot different for me mentally because my first donor, like we've been talking about was a living donor. So I knew her, you know, there was that element of, you know, human connection to that. Yeah, this was actually fortunately for my health, but unfortunately a deceased donor. So it was just kind of, you know, the whole idea of, you know, sad that someone had passed away for me to be fortunate enough to get a kidney, but also at the same time that individual and their family were so in tune with wanting to you know, kind of pay forward to you know, like They donate life basically is really as corny as it sounds, but that someone was selfless enough to want to donate and their unfortunate circumstance, you know, you know.

Nancy Barrow: 15:10

I think it's really important to be an organ donor on your license. Emotionally, this must be really draining. And how did you deal with that emotionally? Did you go and get some help? Did you have a therapist that you could talk to? Because, boy oh boy, when it's health issues, it's it's a lot to deal with.

Nick Arsenault: 15:26

It absolutely is a lot to deal with. And I haven't really had a therapist or like a counselor in the last few years. I will say though, during my first round, after, you know, when I was still on dialysis, before my first transplant, I absolutely went through a period of time that, you know, for lack of a better way of saying it was just kind of a dark time for me, you know, just felt like I was going through the motions, like, just didn't didn't know, am I coming? Am I going like, what's actually happening? Is this ever going to happen? So it was a very difficult time. And I'm sure, you know, love to my family, you know, especially to my mom, you know, she was the one that was like ya know, I think you just need to do something like, you really should consider seeing someone. And this is where I think it's true that nurses can be worse patients that were just kind of like, no, no, we got it, we're fine. But it was really at a point in time that I was just really kind of struggling, you know, just going to work, going home, going to work going home. And I ended up actually connecting with a close friend of mine that I work with, whose fiancee at the time was a therapist himself. And I was like, not that I want to meet with you, but do you know someone like some folks that you know, would be a good, you know, connection maybe for me, since you know me what my personality type is, and whatnot. And sure enough, I had talked with maybe two or three different therapists at the time, and didn't really feel a connection with them. But then I finally met one that he had recommended. And it was quite honestly one of the best decisions I made. And I thank my mom for really kind of planting the seed and kind of giving me that, you know, tough love little nudge a little bit, because that really made such a huge difference, and it really helped me just kind of get a lot of that emotion out, find a way to just kind of find it the place in my life. And it even helped me have the conversation, you know, with my own primary care doctor, to even beyond even like a little bit of an antidepressant for a couple of years just to kind of help me through that moment in my life. And I'm the first person now that will say, you know, don't be too proud to ask for help. Or even just to talk to someone, it doesn't mean you need to go on medication, that was just right for me in that moment in my life. But it is such a life changing thing and it's such a benefit. I really always talk to all of my patients about now to you know, take advantage of that, because it can make such a big difference in your whole self.

Nancy Barrow: 17:47

I'm so glad that you got some help when you really needed it. That must have been a really dark time. You know, you don't know if you're gonna find a match. And you were already going through, you know so much with dialysis. You know, that's a lot. So your second transplant, you didn't really feel like you needed that because it was sort of like it's now!

Nick Arsenault: 18:04

Yeah it happened so quickly. Because the call comes in, there's a match, like, we need a decision right now. Like do you want to accept? It's all the what ifs of what's going to be happening. So on top of the emotional, you know, situation of like all of this happening, that you weren't expecting to have happen that that quickly.

Nancy Barrow: 18:23

Yeah, it's amazing. So what was your recuperation? Like? And how long were you out of work?

Nick Arsenault: 18:30

Yeah, so this time, you know, no two surgeries are ever really identical. Looking back after my first transplant, I feel like my recovery was definitely very much I don't want to say a walk in the park, but it felt like a walk in the park. I was only in the hospital for three days and was discharged home everything was working great. Started with my follow up with the outpatient transplant team at Hartford at that point, which really is even not much change to how it is now. But after my second transplant this kidney took a while to "wake up" on its own so I was actually in the hospital for almost about a week for this one. And you know, my numbers and lab levels for kidney function really actually didn't start kind of going down in normalizing for probably at least a good six, maybe eight weeks after, which is perfectly normal for some situations. It but I was in the hospital for about a good week. And then you know, once you're home, you know you're typically following up with your doctor visit the transplant team and their offices at least you know one to two times a week. Getting bloodwork at least twice a week to check how your labs are doing so they can adjust medications. Really see how you're doing and how you're feeling how your incisions healing. So it's very, very, very fast paced. And it goes by much more quickly than you realize. But this time around, I was like, You know what? I'm older now.(laughter)

Nancy Barrow: 20:03

Right?

Nick Arsenault: 20:04

I'm not rushing process, I'm letting myself take the time I need. And I ended up being out for a full 12 weeks for this one here because I was like, You know what, I'm not pushing it, I'm just letting it, you know, let the recovery happen naturally and not, you know, overly rush to get back to work.

Nancy Barrow: 20:21

So is that when you use Connecticut Paid Leave?

Nick Arsenault: 20:25

Yeah, so ended up happening that, you know, once I was, you know, kind of stabilized a few days after my transplant, I had to actually, you know, talk with my boss being like, here's what's going on, you know, I'm probably going to be out for the 12 weeks. Because I worked with um the company did at the time, you know, I had to put in for my anticipated medical leave, which triggered the short term disability with my work. As many people probably will attest, that doesn't cover your full income by any means whatsoever. It's one of those, it's better than nothing, that's for sure. But you know, that still leaves a huge portion of your salary, hourly pay whatever that looks like, that's not paid. So then, of course, you're scrambling, well, how am I going to cover my bills for the rest of the month, for the rest of the week, make sure I have enough to pay for my medications. You know, all of those smaller but super, super important parts. And that's when one of the HR representatives that I was working with and assigned for my case was like, well you know, you can um, connect with the Hartford for your program, and, you know, see what they might recommend. So I ended up talking with my caseworker who was phenomenal at the short term disability, and she's like, well, you're familiar with the Connecticut Paid Leave program, right? And I said, I mean, I've heard of it, I've seen maybe a couple spots on TV about it, but I don't really know about it. And she had a great conversation with me. And she's like, what you can do is you can, you know, submit your application for the program. And if anything, it will help supplement, you know, the income that you're not getting to replace. And sure enough, I submitted the application, you know, it was actually a very painless process of really just signing online, setting up my claim, and it was just a couple medical forms, I had to have my transplant doctor fill out. And they were able to take care of that very quickly. And my coordinator got it sent back. And next thing I knew, you know my caseworker at the Connecticut Paid Leave program was like she's like, I can tell you you're going to be approved as part of transplant. It's clearly a significant medical,(Laughter)

Nancy Barrow: 22:43

Yes, a serious health condition. Yes.

Nick Arsenault: 22:46

But she's like, once were processed through, she's like, it will absolutely cover, you know, a percentage of your salary while you're out. And it was such, it was such a breath of fresh air to be like, okay, at least I know, I'm not going to be struggling. Because at the time to like most people, I didn't really have a robust, you know, emergency fund or anything, I had some which would help me through. But you know, it doesn't replace, or didn't replace it the time ya know the salary you get when you're working full time. Even at my age, I'm still paying off some student loans. You know, it helped to make sure I've ordered my prescription medications, you know, especially for transplant, you know, you have medications, you have to take for pretty much for life, to help keep your immune system from attacking the new kidney. And just other regular medical bills, co pays, you know, all of those things, make sure I have enough to pay the electric bill. You know, all of those, you know, important things that you're not left sitting there wondering, Where's the money gonna come from?

Nancy Barrow: 23:52

Well, it's nice that you could sit and heal and not worry about your finances.

Nick Arsenault: 23:56

Exactly. And I think that's kind of been one of my biggest take home messages is, you know, if you're eligible apply, you know, it can really make a difference between sitting at home, like you said, worrying about something, or being able to sit home and focus on yourself and where you are in your recuperation.

Nancy Barrow: 24:14

What are your follow up visits? You know, do you have to go every six months? Do you have to see your doctor more frequently than that less frequently than that? What is the routine that you have to go to now?Because it is a chronic condition we call it so this is something that's not going away? This is something that you're going to be living with.

Nick Arsenault: 24:33

It's long term. I mean, yeah, it's playing kidney stuff, never going to be leaving my vocabulary for the remainder of my lifetime. But at this point, you know, the typical follow up after I got the transplant was pretty similar. The standard is usually and again, it's very specific to each patient too. But it was very close to what I've had previously where it was you know, at least twice weekly visits, bloodwork twice a week during those visits for, I'm gonna say maybe it could be upwards of four weeks. And you know, as long as things are improving, you're healing and you're feeling well, it'll eventually extend to just you know, a weekly visit and weekly blood work and slowly kind of stretches out over time. And in my situation now, I probably was very fortunate and very lucky because of my prior experience, and because I'm a nurse too, probably very type A when it comes to managing all of my own stuff. I was able to do the bloodwork twice a week, but I only had to see my doctor once a week. And if there was anything that was changing or updated, I did a phone call or, you know, a telehealth call with her, or with my nurse coordinator. But now I see I'm pretty much seeing my doctor about once every four to six months.

Nancy Barrow: 25:57

Oh, great.

Nick Arsenault: 25:58

Right now, and I'll be two years out from the second kidney this coming April. So I still get bloodwork probably about once a month, just because it's my second one. You know, they just want to make sure they're keeping an extra close eye on things. But I actually see her about every four to six months now. Sooner, obviously if something comes up or if I have a concern or anything but knock on wood!(laughter)

Nancy Barrow: 26:22

Yeah and I think it's so wonderful that, you know, you got to take Connecticut paid leave, what advice would you give someone about Connecticut Paid Leave who's dealing with a serious health condition like yours?

Nick Arsenault: 26:33

I mean, the best advice I guess I can give people is just you know, make sure you're leaving no stone unturned. Make sure you're really having conversations with the people that you're working with. Whether it be a health situation similar to mine, or if it's another chronic health condition that you have, that maybe isn't quite so similar. It's just really important to you know, just know what your options are, and just be informed as best as possible. And I will always sing the praises of, you know, the doctors and care team members that I've been able to work with, just even through my years of my professional life to you. But you know, never be afraid to ask to talk with, you know, a social worker that's connected with the office, because they feel like they're such an indispensable resource of information. And they know about a lot of these different programs, and even have the conversations with your doctor, if they don't know they can at least point you in the right direction of who to maybe ask those questions to.

Nancy Barrow: 27:30

Yeah It's wonderful for us to to know that our program made a difference in your health journey. I mean, I think that's what we all hope, right, that we meet a Nick, you know, and that we meet someone who's really utilized our program and it made a world of difference for you. And continues to do because you're now taking intermittent leave.

Nick Arsenault: 27:50

Yeah, I mean, you just never know what's going to happen or what comes up in your life. And, you know, having chronic health issues like I do, you know, the odds are more in your favor of something potentially changing or developing down the road. But yeah, because of my kidney issues, I ended up subsequently, unfortunately developing gout. With anyone out there who never had gout, it can be an extremely painful condition. And in my case, because especially when I had the rejection issue, that my kidney function wasn't as good at that period of time, it wasn't filtering out certain parts of things like you have what's called uric acid in my bloodstream. And unfortunately, for some people, like in my case, once it kind of reaches a certain threshold in your body, it can actually start crystallizing into joints and can cause a lot of severe pain. And because of my medications, I can only do certain things with certain medications because I don't want interaction problems. And, you know, in the last year, I really kind of struggled with what's the right medication to help with managing this. And lo and behold, the traditional medications for gout I can't take because of the interaction it can have with my immune suppression medicines have a transplant. And they ended up you know, my provider was like, well you know, there's this infusion that's newer, it works really well, in a lot of folks research shows, it works great, you know, and folks with transplants like yours. The only thing was, of course, you know, it's an infusion every other week, for about five to six hours each time. And, you know, with my current employer, it was a case of, you know, well, doesn't really qualify you for a short term disability issue. You know, you would potentially be covered under the Connecticut Paid Leave program. And of course, with all this discussion that we're having, yeah, I was like, I would have thunk I might actually be tapping into, you know, that resource again. And sure enough, you know, at this point, I've been through my third infusion already. And knock on wood, It's working extremely well. It's doing what it needs to keep doing? And again, you know, what helps to kind of cover that gap of, you know, my intermittent leave for my medical appointments at this point.

Nancy Barrow: 30:08

Yeah I think that's important. What would advice would you give someone who has a family history?

Nick Arsenault: 30:13

For family history, again, the biggest thing is just really knowing where your risk stands, it's really about being proactive. It's really just, you know, having that conversation with your doctor. If you don't have a doctor, you know, reach out to your insurance, if you're, you know, if you're on an insurance plan, have that conversation about finding who's a good primary care provider in your area, whether it's a doctor, nurse practitioner, a PA. So that way they can start, you know, really having that conversation to work with you. So you know, you know, what can I do to eat healthier, manage my blood pressure to prevent kidney damage? Making sure I'm not developing diabetes, you know, things that are big risk factors for developing kidney disease and a lot of people. And if you don't, you know, it's even, you know, just having conversations with your family about, hey, have you had, you know, your numbers checked? You know, when was the last time you saw your doctor? Just not being afraid to have that conversation, because the unknown can be a scary thing. But once you know what your numbers are, and where you're at in the big picture, you know, how to be proactive to help protect yourself and take care of themselves too. And just never taking one day for granted is really always my big thing here.

Nancy Barrow: 31:28

Well, it was wonderful speaking with you, Nick, Arsenault, I want to thank you so much for sharing your wonderful and inspiring story on The Paid Leave Podcast, you're really amazing. I mean,

Nick Arsenault: 31:38

Thank you so much. It's really been a pleasure having the conversation today, finally being able to sit down and actually talk, you know, one on one with you. And, you know, if I can even just impact one person to maybe start thinking, but also, like we've talked about, just to be aware, if you are going through a health concern or crisis, you know, don't be afraid to look into Hey, you know, maybe this Connecticut Paid Leave can be that, you know, a little bit of a safety cushion to help make sure I can make it through until I'm feeling better again. And be that stepping stone for them to help you know, to bigger and better things down the road.

Nancy Barrow: 32:12

Thank you so much and continued health to you, Nick.

Nick Arsenault: 32:14

Thank you so much. Yeah.

Nancy Barrow: 32:16

For more information or to apply for benefits go to CTPaidLeave.org. This has been another edition of The Paid Leave Podcast. Please like and subscribe so you'll be notified about new podcasts that become available. Connecticut Paid Leave is a public act with a personal purpose. I'm Nancy Barrow and thanks for listening!