Transplant made me rethink my lifePublished on 13/07/2007
Peter Stybelski: ‘Now I concentrate on what’s important, on what’s going to make a difference’
Cumbria County Council chief executive Peter Stybelski says his outlook on life and work has changed since he underwent a kidney transplant in March, writes Julian Whittle.
And he is urging everyone to register as organ donors so others in his position can have the same chance of life-changing surgery.
Mr Stybelski, 54, said: “Having something like this makes you rethink your life a bit.
“You realise life is a precious gift and you have to make the most of each day.
“It makes you focus on what is most important and not worry so much about trivia.
“Before the transplant I was working ridiculous hours. It’s about getting that in proportion. Now I concentrate on what’s important, on what’s going to make a difference.”
Mr Stybelski, of Armathwaite, has been chief executive of Cumbria County Council since 2004. Before that he held the top job at Carlisle City Council for four years.
He was diagnosed with polycystic kidneys in his 20s but only his wife Lorna, son Henry and close friends knew about the condition.
Mr Stybelski said: “The doctors can’t do anything about it. Over time the kidney function deteriorates. You know that you will need a transplant or dialysis but not when.
“I was put on the transplant list late last year because my kidney function was so low I was about to go on dialysis.
“It’s then a question of waiting for a good match.
“I got a ’phone call in the middle of the night. Although you’re prepared for it, it’s still quite a shock.
“It’s like winning the lottery because there’s such a huge waiting list.”
He had surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. The operation was a success although recovery has not been straightforward.
Mr Stybelski has returned to hospital twice, first for treatment for a urinary infection and then for angioplasty on a renal artery.
He is now back at work, albeit part time initially. He must take drugs for the rest of his life to stop his body rejecting the new kidney.
He said: “I’ve been lucky because a donor was found fairly quickly and because I was able to get a kidney before going on dialysis.”
Thirty-six kidney transplant operations were carried out on patients in north Cumbria in the last four years.
There would have been more had more organs been available.
Twenty-eight people are on the waiting list. Nationally, the average wait is two years.
Mr Stybelski has chosen this week, National Transplant Week (July 7-14), to urge people to register as donors.
He said: “Use this week to talk about it with your family.
“Come to a decision now so if, God forbid, anything happens everything is in place.
“It’s difficult to have this conversation [about organ donation] when somebody is seriously ill and could die.”
Most people have two kidneys, which filter waste products and excess fluid from the bloodstream.
Symptoms of failure include tiredness, shortness of breath and altered taste sensations and appetite. Dialysis performs the function of a healthy kidney but a transplant is preferable.
Organs can come from blood relatives who donate one of their healthy kidneys. These often provide the best match.
Mr Stybelski’s doctor, Low Hesket GP Ken Sutton, said: “Dialysis might mean three trips a week to the Cumberland Infirmary for six hours a time so a transplant can revolutionise a patient’s life.
“Nationally there is a massive shortage of suitable donors. It’s not only kidneys but other organs – heart, liver, corneas, lungs and pancreas. We do encourage people to register as donors because one person’s tragic death could help 10 or 12 others.”
Sign up to the Organ Donor Register by phoning 0845 6060400 or online at
www.uktransplant.org.uk.
email JWhittle@cngroup.co.uk
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=520092
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