Megan Sturman
By Megan S., Education Intern
Hello everyone! My name is Megan Sturman, and I am excited to announce that I am the new education intern here at The DPC Education Center (The Center)! I grew up in Waldorf, MD., a small city just outside of Washington, D.C. I will be graduating this May, from Salisbury University earning my B.S. in Public Health with a minor in Sociology. One of the reasons I decided to pursue a degree in public health was because I am passionate about the health of others. So far it has been the perfect platform to explore opportunities to educate, advocate and prevent disease and illness within our population. I am extremely eager to get started in helping others with kidney disease! Anyway, enough about me!
Part of my first assignment at The Center was reading over all of our materials and as I was reviewing the resources, I noticed that there wasn’t a lot of focus on the mental health side of kidney disease. As you know, mental health and physical health go hand in hand. I am not a kidney patient myself, but I do know what it is like to be ill and the strain that causes. I wanted to write this blog to provide insight into coping strategies, stress management tools, advice from mental health experts and to provide a forum for you all to share your stories and issues you may have experienced throughout treatment or as a caregiver. I hope that this blog will promote an outlet to share feelings and give you the ability to connect with others just like yourself.
Having a healthy state of mind is necessary and key in the success of your treatments! And that is why I feel it is important for you all to have a resource available and the space to talk to one other and offer support! You never know what impact your story can have on someone else. Something that seems obvious to you, others might not have thought about. Obviously, a big tub of ice cream may not be the best way to deal with emotions! So what does keep you positive? Time spent with family and friends? Watching a great movie? What about music? I’d love to hear some stories and feedback from you all. I really look forward to participating in helping kidney patients during my time here at The Center! Please share your story with us.
