Published: Thursday, 6th March, 2008 12:00
Lives transformed by kidney transplants
By Nicola Findlay
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Gordon Banks MP (second left) and Forth Valley NHS chairman Ian Mullem (right) visited the renal unit at Falkirk Royal Infirmary where they met John Weir (left) and Dorothy Easton (front), together with staff from the unit.
Pic by: David Robertson
KIDNEY transplants have given two former dialysis patients new leases of life.
John Weir (68) and Dorothy Easton (59) are backing our “Sign Up for Life’ campaign urging people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register.
Dorothy, who was a nurse on the medical wards of Falkirk Royal Infirmary, was on dialysis for three years before receiving a kidney transplant in 2000.
A virus killed both of her kidneys forcing her to give up her work. At that time she had to travel to Glasgow for dialysis as there was no renal unit in Falkirk.
This meant leaving her home at 6am three times a week and then spending four hours on dialysis before having to wait for transport home.
However, after her transplant Dorothy was able to return to work on the medical wards at Falkirk Infirmary in 2004, and now works in the Renal Unit, giving patients on dialysis support from her first hand experiences.
Dorothy told the Advertiser, “One week I was working away and the next week I was lying in the Western General in Glasgow.
“It was very quick and a huge shock, not just for me but my whole family.
“It was also very disheartening as I had worked all my life but within a short space of time I was forced to stop.
“Having to travel to Glasgow for dialysis was also very tiring and I just didn’t have the energy I used to have. I felt particularly sorry for my youngest child, who was only 10 at the time and I eventually decided to get dialysis at home for her sake.”
The transplant has made a huge difference to Dorothy’s life and her families.
She said, “It has definitely given me my life back as I never thought I would be working in a hospital again.
“I can also enjoy life with my family and they can enjoy spending time with me. I now have grandchildren and I am able to play with them which I wouldn’t have been able to do without the transplant.”
John has also been given a second chance at life thanks to his kidney transplant. He was on dialysis for 10 years before receiving his transplant last May.
Doctors believe that drugs he received for TB and an abscess in the 1960s may have gradually killed one of his kidneys.
John told the Advertiser, “In the 10 years on dialysis there was a gradual decline in the quality of my life and my health.
“Dialysis takes a huge amount of time out of your life. I was lucky because when the unit opened at Falkirk it meant I was only 15 minutes away.”
John said he was aware of a difference as soon as he woke up after his transplant operation and could feel his kidney working again.
“I very much feel as if I have got my life back and I can do what I want again.
“I have always been pretty fit and I now go to the gym three times a week which has made a big difference.”
John added, “I would definitely rather have an opt-out system for organ donation as there is a huge shortage and it can be really disheartening for people who are on the waiting list for years.”
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