Dog sniffed out organ donor & saved my life
Kidney match after miracle meeting at beach
A WOMAN has revealed how her dog saved her life after sniffing out an organ donor during a day trip to the beach.
Lucy Humphrey was suffering from kidney failure after enduring Lupus for 15 years.
The condition causes inflammation in the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and joints.
In 2019, Lucy, 44, was given the daunting news that she might only have five years to live without a transplant.
Then in June 2021 she went to the beach in Barry, South Wales, with her partner Cenydd Owen, 49, and their dobermans Indie and Jake.
Indie became fascinated with another beachgoer – Katie James, 40, who lives in the popular seaside resort.
The trio struck up a conversation at Cold Knap beach and were amazed to learn Katie had just gone on the kidney donation register.
Katie and Lucy, who had been forced to cancel a trip to Aberystwyth, swapped numbers and contacted a donor co-ordinator the following day. Lucy, from Caerphilly, near Cardiff, said: “She had all the tests and it turned out she was a perfect match. A surgeon told us it’s a one in 22 million chance, and that’s what I needed as I’ve got Lupus.”
The successful transplant went ahead on October 3 last year at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
Katie said: “I feel really lucky I got to know Lucy, I know it’s worked and I know she’s out there living her life.
“I feel really proud of myself and my family are proud of me.
“I get embarrassed though as every time I’m out with my nan she’ll tell a stranger, ‘My granddaughter donated a kidney’.”
Lucy added: “It was the fact that Indie almost sussed her out and chose her.”
Cenydd said: “We ended up going to Barry by total chance, meeting Katie by total chance, and Lucy’s ended up with a kidney.
“There is always hope. Never give in, we weren’t even going to go to the beach. There’s a lot of good people out there.”