Photo: National American Kidney Fund
Family is for life, and they stick with you through thick and thin (or at least, we hope they do). For Lord Scott, this proved to be true when his brother donated a kidney to him.
More than 10 years ago, he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, a condition which meant he had no choice but to survive via life-long dialysis treatment. This went on for a good nine years until recently, when the kidney surgery took place, giving him a new lease of life for a year.
According to Malay Mail, Lord Scott was only 25 when he was first diagnosed with the life-changing disease, caused by IgA Nephropathy, which is an autoimmune disease that affects the kidneys. This eventually caused hypertension and subsequently, kidney failure.
“From the very moment, my doctor told me that I had ‘missed the boat’ and had to be on long term haemodialysis, I felt like my whole world was just crumbling,” he said in a press release by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).
Being the youngest at the treatment centre Lord quickly spiralled into depression. Living in hospitals and medical centres was simply not a life.
“My days were spent at the dialysis centre for up to four hours, three times a week,” Lord said. Imagine how much time and energy (which could be used for other things) that must have took up!
Dialysis takes a toll on the body, mind (and bank account), and Lord grew progressively weaker, causing him to be unable to hold down his job.
“Sometimes, I just did not get out of the bed on my treatment days as I hated walking into the centre and knowing that I have to get my arms pricked by needles,” he said.
Eventually, he was persuaded by a friend and a fellow transplant survivor to ask for help from his huge family of eleven siblings. He got some of them to meet the transplant team at Hospital Kuala Lumpur and one of his brothers agreed to be tested.
Photo: CTV News
Lord said that the very long waiting list and a transplant was not something he considered before as he used to think that plenty of medication and care would be required to maintain the new organ. But here he is, one year later, dialysis free!
“The transplant has given me a second lease of life and I am extremely grateful to all who have made it possible, especially my brother. I can now have a full-time job, attend weekend sports management classes and go for long holidays,” he said.
We sure are happy for Lord Scott and his new life!
By: Celestine Foo
