"Kidney Transplant" - my journey video transcript

Hello.

I want to have a yarn with you mob about problems I had with my kidneys and how I got better. Now you see fellas, my doctors ordered some blood tests, which showed that my kidneys were no good and were leaking protein, they called it kidney disease. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that sits on the left and right of our bodies at the back below the rib cage.

They are in charge of cleaning, filtering and removing poisons and extra waters from our body. Now listen carefully, I'm going to share my story so that it helps you and your family understand what happens if you or your family ever needs a kidney transplant. My kidneys were damaged by diabetes and high blood pressure which wasn't well controlled. I know a fella who had it because of inflammation of their kidneys. Sadly, my kidneys continue to get worse, and I had to meet a kidney doctor and nurse to yarn about the possible options to support my kidneys so I can stay well.

I didn't know what was going to happen and at times it was scary. My kidney doctor spoke to me about treatment options, having a kidney transplant, doing bag dialysis also known as peritoneal dialysis or blood dialysis also known as haemodialysis. For those who have a lot of other medical problems sometimes the best option is to not have dialysis or transplant but to have supportive care. I chose to do bag dialysis so that I could stay on country. I know other fellas chose to have dialysis at home while others had to move to Perth to do blood dialysis.

I started to feel better with dialysis, but I still got tired and only had a little energy to do the things that I would like doing. I was also limited in the amount of fluid I could drink and couldn't eat some of my favourite bush tucker. Soon after, with the help of my kidney team I started a transplant workup to see whether I was well enough to have a new kidney and if a new kidney was right for me. A new kidney would make me live longer, have more energy, feel healthier and stronger and free from doing dialysis.

I was told earlier that it would be a long journey. I had a yarn with all the good fellas in my transplant team and the other kidney patients about kidney transplant and what my journey may look like. I had a new and old things to learn about keeping my kidneys healthy. Some of my appointments for kidney transplant education happened locally and some were video link. I learned that being fit and healthy beforehand would help me recover quickly after the big operation. I focused on eating healthy, trying and lose some weight, I made sure I took all my meds and went to all my dialysis sessions and appointment. I even gave up smoking and slowed down on my alcohol drinking because too much was no good for me. I had to have a lot of tests to make sure I was in good health with a strong heart and no infection or cancer.

Some of these tests and appointments happen close to home but I had to travel to Perth to the Whadjuk Noongar country for the others. To help me through my transplant workup and all the tests I had a deadly good team of doctors, nurses, surgeons, aboriginal liaison officers, social workers, patient support staff and heaps of others.

One day, after I completed all the tests, I got a letter in the mail saying I was being approved and activated on the transplant wait list. I shared the good news with my family and friends. They are and still are my support team. They helped me stay healthy and strong while I waited for the phone call. It was a long wait for the phone call, some fellas wait for years. While waiting I knew I had to keep in touch with my doctor and nurses to tell them if I got crook. A few years later my phone rang, out of the blue, a kidney doctor from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital had a kidney that was good match for me. I was so excited, I packed my bag, made sure my phone was fully charged before getting myself straight to hospital in Perth.

When I arrived at the hospital, I was admitted to the kidney transplant ward, G63. I met the team and had a few tests to make sure that I was ready for surgery. My operations took about five to six hours, and I was in hospital for about a week. The ward staff were great, I could ask them any questions I had. On the day of my discharge, my transplant nurse gave me my clinic appointments and I was good to go. I stayed in the hostel during the three months I stayed in Perth after my transplant surgery. It was important I attend my appointments to make sure my new kidney was working well. I started a lot of new and important medications to make sure my body doesn't reject the new kidney. At each clinic appointment I learned about the medication that I was taking, had my blood test to check my kidneys level, had my wound checked to ensure it was healing well. My doctors told me my new kidney was working well and I would have the dialysis tube and the bladder stent taken out.

Each day I felt better with increasing amount of energy. I couldn't wait to go home to my family. 12 weeks after the op my doctor took a tiny sample of my new kidney, this is called a kidney biopsy to check for rejection. There was no rejection, and I was told that I could finally return home, I was happy.

Now the journey doesn't end there fellas, to continue looking after my new kidney I still have regular check-ups, blood tests with my kidney doctor and make sure that I have my tablets every day. You know you mob, you will have days when you want to give up because there's a lot of tests and appointments, but I'm glad I stuck with it because I know I can still do the things I used to. It's great to be home enjoying time with my family being back at work, exercising and going fishing.