Marie is 'one of the lucky ones'

MARIE Mellon is a native of Swinford and is a haemodialysis patient in Mayo University Hospital. She has had renal failure for the past 35 years and has been on haemodialysis for the past 14 years.

To mark Organ Donor Awareness Week, a number of Mayo transplant recipients are sharing their stories with us. Below Marie's tells us her story.

  

I have lived all my life with chronic renal failure. I started my journey with this disease when I was 30, but looking back, I was probably heading into renal failure from my early 20s.

I had constant fatigue, anaemia and lethargy, but I put this down to being young and busy, and enjoying life!

I do recall a doctor telling me at one stage that my kidneys were failing, but at the time it went straight over my head. I thought renal failure was for ‘old’ people and might affect me when I was older, and I continued living my life.

Because my daughter was just a baby, I was initially started on home peritoneal dialysis. This involves cleaning the blood of toxins, excess water and electrolytes by passing fluids through tubes in the abdomen. I did peritoneal dialysis for nine years in total.

In 1990 I had a kidney transplant in the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel in England. This was going to be my new lease of life, but unfortunately this was not the case. The kidney sadly rejected and I was back on dialysis within 24 hours.

This was a very traumatic period for us as a family. Living away from home, with a young baby and my husband working all hours to pay the mortgage, it was very difficult to cope.

We returned to live in Ireland, and settled in Swinford. In 1994 I was called for my second transplant to Beaumont Hospital Dublin. Again, this was not to be my time.

The transplant, whilst it kept me off dialysis, was not really successful and my quality of life was impaired for the duration of this transplant.

I have had numerous surgeries, been in ICU a few times, and even received the last rites. I was a regular admission to both Beaumont Hospital and Mayo General Hospital - it was like a revolving door!

After a particularly difficult few years, the transplant eventually stopped working and I was back on dialysis in August 2003. I opted for haemodialysis in the Renal Unit in Mayo General Hospital, and I am still on dialysis to this day.

Haemodialysis involves filtration of the blood through a dialysis machine, via needles in the arm or neck. Dialysis is all consuming, both physically and emotionally, and the side effects are many. I have a very restricted diet and fluid intake, high blood pressure, anaemia, thyroid problems, and reduced mobility, to name a few.

Since 2003, I have undergone haemodialysis every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for four hours each time. In total I have attended 2,237 sessions of haemodialysis, the equivalent of over 8,500 hours, over the last 14 years. I have never missed a single session, as to do so would quickly lead to death.

Despite everything I’ve gone through over the past 30 years, I consider myself one of the lucky ones, and have so much to be thankful for.

My husband, Terry, has been a rock of support through this terrible illness, and has stayed on this rollercoaster ride with me through incredibly difficult times.

My daughter, Lisa, has achieved much success in her career, and she is so supportive of Terry and I. She is a strong advocate for promoting organ donor awareness, and she currently represents Mayo on the national board of directors of the Irish Kidney Association.

Finally, and most importantly, I am indebted to my two organ donors for giving me the chance to live. Life is precious, and an organ donor can gift the biggest gift there is – the gift of life.

 

 

 

ORGAN DONATION

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association - LoCall 1890 543639 or Freetext the word DONOR to 50050.

Visit www.ika.ie.