In a Dialysis Daize, create spirit of a woman from Westerville with failing kidneys
Johanna McGinley of Westerville was a bright, beautiful, talented actress in her twenties. She got her kicks from spontaneous adventures, attending school in NYC, acting in and helping produce short films, and keeping moral up on set.
Then one day, she noticed bruises covering her thighs. Johanna tried chalking it up to anemia. “Just add it to my other weird problems like being an overactive puker, headaches, and having a tingling sensation every now and again,” she writes in her blog.
But after getting examined at Mt. Carmel ER on March 31, 2017, she learned her symptoms pointed to something much more severe than a case of anemia.
Johanna had end stage renal disease. Her kidneys were failing.
Since the day she was diagnosed, she has been on dialysis. As rough as a ride as it may be though, each passing day is one closer to Johanna receiving a new kidney.
Each day also stokes her creative fire. Johanna is filming a documentary to share her journey from dialysis to transplant with the world.
“I had no idea how many people go through this and I want to create some more awareness,” she wrote. “I also just want to keep myself busy creating film. And there, In a Dialysis Daize the documentary was born”
Now, even with end stage renal disease, Johanna is still a bright, beautiful, talented, courageous actress in her twenties. Instead of dramas, she is now the star of her own show that will help to raise awareness about kidney dialysis and inspire those who suffer from severe medical issues to wake up each day and face the world with their heads full of ideas and hearts full of gusto.
Follow Johanna’s journey on her:
Watch her former acting bits on Vimeo.
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