Enlisted Kidney Foundation

12/22/2025

🎙️ EPISODE 2 IS LIVE — TONIGHT 🎙️
The Podcast is back.

In Episode 2: Dancing with Disease – How a Published Author Lives Her , we sit down for a powerful, honest conversation about what it really looks like to live fully while carrying chronic illness.

This episode is raw.
It’s reflective.
And it’s a reminder that diagnosis does not define destiny.

Our guest shares how storytelling, resilience, and purpose have helped her navigate disease—without letting it steal her joy, creativity, or voice.

If you or someone you love is walking a health journey…
If you’ve ever wondered how to keep moving forward when life changes the rules…
This one is for you.

▶️ Watch Episode 2 now on YouTube
🔗 https://youtu.be/dBPegXq761M?si=TVmUlcZmTXttMy_k

🎧 Also available on Spotify & Apple Podcasts — keep checking as Episode 2 rolls out across platforms.

This is what it means to live a .
Real stories. Real people. Real impact.

💚
— Dan & The Enlisted Kidney Foundation

In this episode, we introduce you to *Gail Ray Garwood*—a lifelong educator, acclaimed non-fiction writer, and one of the most respected voices in the chroni...

12/22/2025

📍 EKF | Washington, DC 🇺🇸

From the patient chair
➡️ to Capitol Hill.

We’re in DC fighting for kidney warriors, veterans, and families impacted by toxic exposure and chronic kidney disease.

This is advocacy in action.
This is .
This is The Enlisted Kidney Foundation showing up.

💚
🇺🇸
🏛️

12/16/2025

podcast now available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube
Ep.1 Now available- Come with us.

https://youtu.be/MIdEH2m5MEI?si=wL46_zD0ZGyaY7nI

Podcast — Presented by The Enlisted Kidney Foundation

What does it really mean to live a ?

This podcast goes beyond lab numbers, diagnoses, and medical jargon. is where real kidney patients, donors, caregivers, and advocates sit down for honest, one-on-one conversations about what it takes to keep going—physically, mentally, and emotionally—when kidney disease becomes part of your life.

Hosted by Dan Holmes, Founder of the Enlisted Kidney Foundation (EKF) and kidney warrior himself, each episode features patient spotlights and personal interviews that explore:
• How everyday people are navigating kidney disease in real life
• What advice they’ve learned to listen to — and what they’ve learned to filter out
• What has actually worked for them (and what hasn’t)
• The emotional, mental, and practical takeaways they wish they’d known earlier
• How they stay grounded, hopeful, and empowered through uncertainty

These conversations are guided by a simple but powerful idea:

Your kidneys filter your blood.
Your life requires filtering everything else.

In every episode, we ask our guests to reflect on how they FILTER through information, fear, opinions, and noise—and how they protect what matters most: their health, their mindset, and their future.

This is not a polished highlight reel.
This is lived experience.

Whether you’re newly diagnosed, years into your journey, a living donor, a caregiver, or someone simply trying to understand kidney disease better, offers connection, clarity, and community.

Because living with kidney disease isn’t just about survival—it’s about learning how to live well, on your own terms.

Welcome to .
Powered by the Enlisted Kidney Foundation.

🎥 Interview with Dr. Laurence H. Beck, Jr. — A Rare Opportunity Welcome to our special conversation with Dr. Beck, a true leader in the world of rare kidney...

12/15/2025

Loved this episode Keith D. Terry

Guest: Daniel “The Enlisted Kidney” HolmesFrom life-threatening diagnosis to national stage—this is how one U.S. Navy veteran turned personal pain into publi...

12/15/2025

Such a great episode!!

Podcast Episode · Kent's Kidney Stories · 11/14/2024 · 1h 17m

12/13/2025

Still can’t get over this moment…
Getting to sit down with 4-time Grammy Award-winning musician Brian Kennedy was one of those days you don’t forget. 🎶 🏆

From chart-topping hits to unforgettable collaborations, his music has shaped the soundtrack of so many lives — and now he’s standing beside us in the journey from . 🎧❤️

We talked about the power of music, the importance of storytelling, and how creative expression isn’t just entertainment — it’s healing.
Whether you’re a veteran, a chronic illness fighter, or someone just trying to make sense of it all, stories like these remind us that art connects us, uplifts us, and gives us strength when we need it most.

Thank you, for your time, your talent, and your heart.
This is what happens when legends meet missions. ✨

12/13/2025

On the world-renowned podcast “The NEXT BIG THING,” host Keith D. Terry and I went back to the day everything changed —
the day the fire on the USS George Washington altered my life forever.

That moment didn’t just scar my memory…
It set off a chain reaction I wouldn’t understand for years:
toxic exposure, a silent immune response, and eventually a rare kidney disease that reshaped my entire mission.

But here’s what we talked about — and what every person needs to hear:

🔥 Trauma doesn’t end when the fire is out.
🔥 Toxic exposure leaves a legacy.
🔥 Kidney disease doesn’t discriminate — rank, job, politics, status… none of it protects you.
🔥 Early detection is everything.

Most people don’t even think about their kidneys until it’s too late.
But you don’t have to crash into dialysis.
You don’t have to face this blind.

And if you do find yourself in the fight?

The Enlisted Kidney Foundation is here to walk beside you — step by step, day by day.
Veterans. Civilians. Caregivers. Kidney warriors.
No one gets left behind.

This podcast episode isn’t just my story…
It’s a reminder of why this mission matters.

💚 Live the
💚 Know the signs
💚 Protect your health
💚 And never be afraid to speak your truth

12/13/2025

we sat down with a dietitian and talked about something every kidney warrior deserves:

Meeting patients where THEY are.
Not where the system says they “should” be.
Not where their labs say they “used” to be.
But where they actually are right now — in real life.

At EKF, that’s our entire approach.
We don’t judge.
We don’t overwhelm.
We walk with you, step by step, at your pace.

➡️ Newly diagnosed?
➡️ Trying to understand your labs?
➡️ Struggling with proteinuria, diet changes, or fluid retention?
➡️ Overwhelmed by the VA or your healthcare team?

We will meet you THERE.
Because that’s where real change starts.

💚 Schedule a FREE EKF intake
💚 Let’s walk this journey together
💚 You don’t have to figure this out alone

The Enlisted Kidney Foundation — where every kidney warrior has a place, and every story matters.

12/12/2025

I had the honor of being featured on the world-renowned podcast The NEXT BIG Thing — and we went deep into a truth too many people never hear:

Kidney disease doesn’t discriminate.
It doesn’t care about your social status.
It doesn’t care about your political views.
It doesn’t care who you are or where you come from.

If your kidneys are compromised, they’re compromised —
and without early detection, this disease will sneak up on you fast.

That’s why we’re raising our voices.
That’s why education matters.
That’s why awareness saves lives.

🟢 Don’t crash into dialysis because no one told you what to look for.
🟢 Don’t wait until you’re in a crisis to get labs done.
🟢 Know your numbers. Know the signs. Protect your health.

And if you do find yourself facing dialysis, a new diagnosis, or a kidney fight you never saw coming…
The Enlisted Kidney Foundation is here to walk that journey with you.
From support to resources to real community — no one fights alone.

Early detection is key.
Support is essential.
And your story matters.

💚 Live the
💚 Follow
💚 Get connected — your kidneys will thank you

12/12/2025

This photo matters.
That soldier stirring a burn pit full of human waste, trash, fuel, plastics — that’s who we’re looking for.

🔥 Burn pits weren’t just smoke.
They released VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) — toxic chemicals small enough to enter your lungs, bloodstream, and kidneys.

🧪 What the science shows:
• VOCs & PAHs cause immune dysregulation
• They damage podocytes (kidney filtration cells)
• They lead to proteinuria and chronic kidney injury
• The damage is often delayed — years later

⏳ That’s why you weren’t sick then…
but you’re dealing with kidney disease NOW.

If you worked around burn pits, waste pits, incinerators, or open-air combustion during deployment — and later developed kidney issues — we want to talk to you.

You’re not crazy.
You’re not alone.
And this didn’t come from nowhere.

📩 Reach out. Share your story.
We’re connecting the dots — together.

12/12/2025

Let’s clear something up about proteinuria — because there is way too much misinformation out there.

👉 Proteinuria has NO cure.
👉 There are only treatments that help reduce the damage and slow the progression.
👉 And a high-protein diet is NOT the cause of real clinical proteinuria.

If someone tells you, “Oh, it’s just because you eat too much protein…”
Don’t listen.
That’s not science — that’s misinformation.

Proteinuria happens because the kidneys’ filtration barrier is injured.
Podocytes are damaged.
The glomerulus is inflamed or leaking.
It’s a sign of underlying kidney disease, not diet choices.

The good news?
New treatments are finally coming to market — and some are showing real promise for reducing protein leakage and protecting the kidneys over time.
But a cure?
We’re not there yet.

That’s why awareness matters.
That’s why early detection matters.
That’s why advocacy matters.

If you’re living with proteinuria or any rare kidney condition —
you’re not alone in this fight.
And you deserve real information, real support, and real community.

💚 Keep living the
💚 Keep questioning bad information
💚 Keep protecting your kidneys