Couple united in gratitude to donors
A HUSBAND and wife who met while receiving treatment following kidney organ transplant operations have spoken of their gratitude to the anonymous donors who have given them such quality of life today.
New Ross couple Jason Roche and Susan White have both had kidney transplants.
Susan had her first transplant in 1996 following a six month wait. ‘I had been ill for some time and was fainting in school. Doctors put it down to anaemia until they took my bloods which showed my kidneys hadn’t developed since I was a child, which is very rare.’
The first transplant had to be removed as it didn’t work and was causing Susan pain. Susan had to wait several years before getting her second transplant.
Speaking from her An Caislean Maol home, Susan, 41, said: ‘ The second transplanted kidney is still there but it’s not working so I have three kidneys that aren’t working.’
She is on haemo-dialysis at University Hospital Waterford three times a week.
‘I am just waiting now to go back on the list having been taken off the list because I had to get a stress test. Now they need to carry out tests on her heart.’
She said the last transplant she had gave her a kidney which worked for seven years, lasting until July 2015.
‘I ended up losing a lot of weight before I got married to Jason. Today I am very well on dialysis. I sleep for the four hours I’m on it at hospital and can come home and WEXFORD woman Valerie Achille Onuh of Barntown who had a kidney transplant in October 2013 is supporting the Irish Kidney Association’s Organ Donor Awareness Week by publicly expressing her gratitude to her deceased donor and to God for rescuing her from kidney failure and giving her a new life.
Valerie, aged 67 discovered almost 15 years ago that her kidneys were deteriorating but managed to stave off dialysis for over a decade until July 2012 when a hospital check-up showed that her kidneys had completely collapsed and shrunk.
She was admitted to hospital immediately and commenced dialysis treatment the following morning. Valerie then began the gruelling routine of being transported by taxi firm Gray’s of Blackwater to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin three times a week for haemodialysis treatment. In July 2013 she received a false call for a transplant which unfortunately didn’t proceed. She was rushed to Beaumont Hospital but was advised by the transplant surgeon that the donor organ was not suitable. She wasn’t discouraged by this and in her own words described it as “a trial run’.
‘At least now I knew what might happen in the future if I got called again for a transplant,’ said Valerie.
She struggled with dialysis and felt very tired most of the time. She had one or two difficult moments while undergoing treatment but came through quite well. She was acutely aware and grateful that the treatment was keeping her alive.
Fortunately her wait for a transplant came just over a year and three months after get on with what I need to do. It’s like a family down there at Waterford Hospital. Everyone is in the same boat. Everyone gets on with each other.’
She said even though their ailments brought them together, a great bond exists between her and Jason. Jason said he had his kidney transplant 21 years ago. ‘It has made a big difference in my life. I will never know who the person was but every July 16 I mark the anniversary of my transplant and I say a prayer for whoever it was.’ Jason, 41, fell ill in February 1995. ‘I went downhill very fast. My urine was black and I wasn’t sleeping nights. My doctor sent me to Waterford Regional and then to Beaumont hospital in Dublin.’
Jason’s immune system was attacking his body and he ended up on chemotherapy tablets.
After five months he had his kidney transplant operation.
‘ The longer it goes on the more at risk you are. A machine can never do what a kidney can do. Once I got the kidney it worked straight away.’
Following the procedure he had follow up medical appointments and he met Susan on one of these occasions in Waterford.
‘I never really got on with her but ten years later she met my sister and we met up shortly after and are married now. I have a lot of problems with my nose and I am on a lot of painkillers but I am so lucky to have had the transplant.’ starting dialysis when this time she underwent a successful transplant operation in Beaumont Hospital.‘I have been given the gift of life and I would urge everyone to support organ donation,’ said valerie.
‘I thank my donor for giving me this second chance as well as the Almighty God who got me through this illness as well as a cancer diagnosis which I am now fully recovered from’
She thanked Professor Watson and Dr. Holian and their teams in St. Vincent’s Hospital. ‘I will also be eternally grateful to the transplant surgeons and team at Beaumont Hospital for their superb care.’
Valerie also expressed her gratitude to Gray’s Taxis who were engaged by the HSE to provide transport to her dialysis treatment, especially the two drivers assigned to her.