I was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2016 and was put on dialysis shortly after. I tried peritoneal dialysis but it wasn’t the treatment for me so I drove to Regina - 500 km round trip - for dialysis twice a week. I did this for 5½ years. I never missed a dialysis treatment and I did everything that my Doctors asked of me. My Sister, Judy, offered to be my direct kidney donor and she went through a number of tests. In the meantime, I got two calls for a kidney from deceased donors, unfortunately neither kidney was a good fit for me. In early 2020, we were sure we were very closed to getting a call for my direct donation from my sister, but instead the call said Judy was no longer a match for me. I was devastated, but still had hope since we were now going into the Kidney Paired Program. I continued to drive back and forth for dialysis while getting weaker and weaker. Mental health and depression were also very real factors and complicated my journey. In 2021 our files were taken to rounds and we were picked as a pair to be part of a chain of recipients/donors through the Kidney Paired Program. In June 2021 we went to Saskatoon and I received a strong, healthy kidney from someone in another province. Shortly after the surgery, I immediately felt better. If there is one thing I can say it was a “miracle”. If you’re thinking about being a living kidney or liver donor, it’s easy to say “no”, but a “yes” means you are “saving a life”.
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