New lease on life
Transplant patients share stories at expo
Sydney resident Ed Brusdeilins was diagnosed with a slow degenerative disease of the kidneys when he was 16 years old.
It took decades before he would feel any ill effects from the condition known as glomerulonephritis – the inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidneys that remove excess fluid, electrolytes and waste from the bloodstream and pass into the bladder.
“The doctors were thinking I’d need a transplant somewhere around 70 or 75 years of age. But it caught up to me when I was 63,” said Brusdeilins, who shared his story during the third annual Transplant Expo, organized by the renal transplant clinic, in Sydney, Friday.
Nine months ago, with his kidneys shutting down, the choice was between renal dialysis and finding a suitable transplant kidney.
His wife was to provide a kidney for a paired donation, which is a transplant option for candidates who have a living donor, but they cannot donate a kidney to their intended candidate because they are incompatible.
It was during the testing phase that the couple discovered they matched, Brusdeilins said.
“It was like winning the lottery,” he said.
“You know the health of the person the kidney is coming from so you’ve got an idea of what exactly is being transplanted in your body.”
While he spent four days in hospital in Halifax, his wife’s recovery was more complicated.
“It was significantly more stressful and involved for her than it was putting the kidney into me.
“The day after the difference was almost immediate. And suddenly I felt like I’m 40 years old again. The transformation was amazing.”
Martina Johnson’s story of kidney failure was more acute.
At the age of 30, Johnson, who’s from Eskasoni, was rushed to the emergency room. Following a series of tests she was told her kidneys were functioning at only five per cent.
From her early 20s, she had suffered from bladder reflux, a condition where the backward flow of urine into the kidneys cause bacteria to build up and damage the organ.
“I had to start dialysis right away. I was on dialysis for two and a half years before I got a call nine months ago,” said Johnson, now 34.
She also received her new kidney in February. She received the organ from a female donor who had just died of meningitis.
There were special precautions she had to take because of the risk of contracting meningitis, Johnson said.
“There was only like a one per cent chance that I would get meningitis but they started me off with antibiotics once the kidney was put in. I feel pretty good now.”
She encouraged people to sign donor cards and to tell family members their wish to donate organs after death.
“I was a donor on mine (card), and I’m just thankful I got a kidney.”