My mother immediately took steps to donate one of her kidneys to me, but in order for her to be considered, she first had to lose more than 20 kilos.
While she was on the treadmill, my nephrologist and his team were trying to prevent complete failure. He was frank, while remaining optimistic.
Dialysis would be needed, and since my kidney failure was terminal, I was almost certainly sterile – I couldn’t have a child until I had a transplant. If I didn’t receive any, I would die.
Many doctors would have sent me straight to the operating room to put in a dialysis catheter, but mine thought I could do without it with the right combination of vitamins, medications and dietary changes – as long as the transplant doesn’t. didn’t wait too long.
Three days later, I left the hospital, where I would however return for countless appointments and blood tests. I also underwent the examinations prior to a transplant: ultrasounds, cardiovascular and even vascular tests to determine if I would tolerate hemodialysis (which consists of extracting the blood to purify it before reinjecting it into the patient).
My diet has changed drastically. No more Diet Cokes, pickles and cheeses: my body couldn’t filter out all that phosphorus and sodium anymore. I had to stick to less than 1.5 liters of fluids a day, so I chewed gum to quench my thirst. I also had to swallow a lot of pills – vitamins, minerals, drugs – and receive injections every week to raise my hemoglobin level.
Despite five months of this diet, my kidney function deteriorated further, and my symptoms worsened. Restless Leg Syndrome was depriving me of sleep. I was so tired that some days I couldn’t even get out of bed. Seemingly easy tasks like putting away clean clothes became overwhelming. My mother’s application for organ donation was still under consideration, but I didn’t have much time left. In August 2018, a catheter was inserted into my stomach. In September, I was doing peritoneal dialysis every night at home to eliminate what my kidneys should have filtered out. I was then trapped in the dialysis machine for 9 or 10 hours.
In the meantime, my mother had lost weight, but her application was ultimately rejected due to the loss of kidney function due to aging. I was put on the waiting list for a post-mortem donation. However, I was warned that because of my blood type, I would probably only be called up in seven years – if I was still alive.
It was then that Christine took over.
The kidney is one of organs your body can do without!