Undrella Woody

I started in the healthcare field about 15 years ago, and eventually left because my late husband passed away after battling kidney disease. When he had it, people didn't talk about it - we weren't aware of all the things we needed to know, and we got a rude awakening. It was hard on our family, but I thank God for my job at the time because I was able to be a caregiver to him for the last 4 years while still continuing to work and take care of our young daughter. After he passed away, I needed a break because I felt like my daughter was kind of put on the back burner because of all the issues we had to deal with. I remarried less than a year after he passed, and my new husband was a middle school history teacher. I started out as a substitute teacher and eventually went back to school to get a temporary special education certification. Now I'm a special education teacher. My late husband's battle with kidney disease led me to becoming a volunteer kidney health coach through the American Kidney Fund. I go out to do sessions and events to promote kidney health awareness. My most notable professional achievement is becoming a kidney health coach because kidney disease is a silent disease or silent killer - you don't know you have it until advanced stages. The two main causes are diabetes and high blood pressure. Alabama is the leading number one state for kidney disease, so I'm really moving forward trying to spread awareness about prevention and getting tested. Health is wealth, and my main thing is to spread awareness, prevention, and maintaining health.