I’ve had miracle gift of a second kidney swap op
Paddy tells of guilt at transplant .. but joy and relief at its success
A RECIPIENT of a second kidney transplant had almost given up hope before he got the miracle phone call about a suitable organ.
But now Paddy Cox says he struggles with guilt thinking about the donor’s family who are going through “the worst pain they will ever feel”.
He is calling for awareness about the feelings transplant recipients go through as well as the side effects of dialysis.
During his illness, the 35-year-old from Castlecomer in Kilkenny created Dialize.
The unisex clothing range includes half-zip tops with multiple openings that facilitate IV or PICC lines used in dialysis and chemotherapy.
Paddy revealed he was so overcome by the success of the operation, he hugged the first bag of urine he produced after his transplant and still celebrates every time he uses the toilet.
However, he still has to be careful of infection until antibodies build back up in his system after last month’s surgery.
Paddy said: “I’ve to be minded like a newborn now.
“Surgeons basically flatlined all my cells so I’m really open to infection right now while they slowly build back up.” Paddy had a kidney transplant in 2008 but had to go back on dialysis when it failed five years ago.
A new organ was needed to be a 100% match in order to survive any attack from his antibodies.
He revealed: “This is a miracle on so many levels. To get a perfect match in the first place is huge but I had almost given up hope of it working because it was, what they call, a sleepy kidney.
“After five days, the kidney still wasn’t working so I was on dialysis and I got two infections the day after the operation and an abscess around the scar which had to be cut out back in theatre.
“I was very lucky the abscess didn’t spread to the kidney. I was in such a lot of pain but I kept telling myself that it will all be worth it. I had it in my head that I’d be back in theatre and they’d have to take the kidney out again because it wasn’t working. I had almost given up.
“But then I woke up on the sixth morning to see a bag full of urine. It was the most wonderful and weird experience to see I had passed urine for the first time in over five years.
“I actually hugged my bag of urine and now every time I use the toilet, I celebrate. I even had a pint of water this morning and it felt good.
“A pint of water could kill someone on dialysis and people don’t really know this.”
Paddy is waiting until he recovers more to write a card of thanks which recipients are allowed to anonymously send to their donor’s family. He revealed: “It’s very overwhelming to think that I got this kidney for a reason.
“It’s a new life for me but some poor family is going through the worst pain that they will ever feel.
“I can’t help thinking of the person who had to die to make me this happy and no one really talks about that side of things.
“I’ve been five years on dialysis and I’ve seen people close to me who have passed away and I think why did I get a kidney and they didn’t.
“I was on dialysis three times a week for four hours but it’s a 24-hour illness and people don’t realise that.
“After the dialysis, you have headaches, anxiety, depression, you throw up.
“You go through so many things and people aren’t aware of the side effects.
“People know about the effects of chemotherapy but not about dialysis
“I knew that my body wasn’t going to last much longer before I got that call.
“Every night before I closed my eyes, I worried I was not going to open them again the following morning.
“Lucky is a term bandied about by many, but I could feel my body shutting down. So I know what I mean when I say I was lucky to get that phone call.”
I can’t help thinking of the person who had to die to make me happy PADDY COX ON FEELINGS AFTER HIS TRANSPLANT