My name is Yvonne and my story began 5-1/2 years ago. I was healthy and not taking any medication. My husband however was very sick with his sixth bout of cancer. It was taking a heavy toll on him. Perhaps the stress of worrying and caring for him, may have contributed to me developing an autoimmune disease called Wegener’s disease.  It is not very common and extremely difficult disease to diagnose. It causes inflammation of the blood vessels and in my case attacked my sinuses. If not treated quickly, it can also attack your kidneys and lungs. Unfortunately, mine was not caught early enough, and I experienced renal failure.

When the renal failure diagnosis was confirmed, I was sent to ICU in Charlottetown, where they prepared me for dialysis. Once stabilized, I was transported to Halifax for a process called plasmapheresis. I started dialysis in Summerside – three times per week for 4-hour periods and was taking a lot of medication to control the Wegener’s.

After being free of Wegener’s for over a year, I was able to be added to the transplant list. My daughter wanted to be my donor. Unfortunately, she was not a match. However, we discovered the Kidney Paired Donation Program, which put us in a pool of individuals across the country with similar situations (donors and recipients who don’t match). This would allow my daughter to give her kidney to someone else, if a donor was found for me in that pool. 

Rigorous testing of donors and recipients is completed four times per year, and all surgeries take place at approximately the same time to ensure matches for everyone. Testing took longer than anticipated, and unfortunately, my Wegener’s returned. This disqualified me for a transplant until things stabilized. We were no longer able to participate in the pairing program.

Luckily, the Wegener’s went into remission again. I do get occasional flare-ups and have great doctors monitoring my health. In addition to my family doctor, I have two Island nephrologists and a rheumatologist in Moncton. I’m doing very well and always try to remain very positive! I watch my diet and lead a normal life enjoying concerts; playing cards and going out with family and friends.

The nurses in the renal unit of Prince County Hospital are very knowledgeable and friendly. They are like family to me. I have made progress and now have dialysis twice a week. It’s made a big difference in my life! I am very fortunate to be able to have my treatments in Summerside.