Kidney Foundation

Annie’s story

Sometimes, I will just touch my incision where they placed this sweet person’s kidney and think I have a little piece of an angel inside me now.

My name is Annie, I am a 30-year-old mom of a seven-year-old little boy and I have chronic kidney disease (CKD). I am very grateful and overjoyed to, finally, say I am a successful kidney transplant recipient! After many years of living with insecurity everyday regarding my health and worrying about what my future would hold or if I had one, this was the best event in my life for both myself and my family.

On August 17, 2017, I received that life changing call. The call I had been praying to get. A matching kidney was found. I feel extremely lucky today, to be alive and able to share my story with you. Five years ago, I was placed in intensive care and was thrown into the world of hemodialysis. When I first got sick, my summer was spent undergoing low dose chemotherapy treatment on cyclophosphamide, the aim was to try and bring back my kidney function, but no such luck.

I was on dialysis for almost four years, going three times a week and each session taking 4-5 hours. I had a catheter in my chest where they would pump my blood out, clean it and remove excess fluid. They also gave me medications during treatment like iron and Aranesp, which is a drug used to treat anemia (low red blood cell count); since my body could not naturally produce these on its own.

If you met me before my transplant you would probably never know that I had this chronic disease, because from the outside, I looked pretty healthy. It just goes to show that everyone fights their own battle and although you may not have visible symptoms, it does not mean they are not there. A lot of people see kidney failure as an "old person" disease but they are very wrong. Kidney failure can happen to anyone no matter the age, race, or gender. Unfortunately, the rate of people in Canada with this horrible disease continues to grow at an alarming rate.

Did you know approximately 83% of deceased individuals who are eligible to donate, do not convert into donors? A miracle happened for me and I want others to have a chance at getting their lives back too. Thanks to my donor (my hero), I got my life back and my 7-year-old son grows up with his mom around.

Sometimes, I will just touch my incision where they placed this sweet person’s kidney and think I have a little piece of an angel inside me now. I've been sick since my son first entered this world, he's never got to know the true healthy me and now I've been given that chance. Please, PLEASE take a few moments and register online to be a donor. It only takes a couple minutes and you could save lives and be someone's hero too. The gift of a donor is the gift of life.