'SELFLESS JILL' MARKS 25 YEARS AS A SURVIVOR

'SELFLESS JILL' MARKS 25 YEARS AS A SURVIVOR

09:00 - 31 December 2007
Nottingham UK

Like thousands of people around Notts, Jill Schofield is celebrating New Year's Eve with friends

There will be cakes and a couple of drinks.

But the celebrations are more unusual than most: Jill will be in the City Hospital with fellow dialysis patients.

Remarkably it is her 25th year attending the unit.

"I go three times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It's a routine - even if it is Christmas Day or New Year's Eve," said Jill, 57, of Woodthorpe.

"I have been going for 25 years now - the patient who has been going the longest in Nottingham, I believe."

It is difficult to give an average survival time for dialysis patients, because it depends on factors such as age and health.

It is thought a healthy person starting dialysis in their twenties can expect to live up to 20 years without a transplant.

Jill's problems started when she gave birth to her daughter Elaine, now 29.

"I had very high blood pressure and it caused my kidneys to fail," said Jill, who is married to Phillip and also has a son, Graham, 33. "It's not common but it can happen.

"They treated it for a while with steroids, but then I had to start going for dialysis."

Each visit lasts around six hours - including four hours hooked up to the dialysis machine, which mimics the kidneys by cleaning her blood.

Three kidney transplant operations when she was younger failed - meaning Jill will always need dialysis.

"That was very disappointing," she said. "But I try to stay positive.

"I know a lot of the other dialysis patients as we have the same slot, so they are friends.

"And I have known some of the nurses for quite some time. I have seen a lot of them coming and going.

"When it's Christmas or a special event, we have drinks and cakes. It's like a little family, really."

Daughter Elaine paid tribute to her brave mum, saying: "It is very rare indeed for a patient to have been on dialysis for so many years.

"In fact, there can only be a few people in the country with such a long time served.

"It might seem strange to want to celebrate 25 years of kidney failure, but the fact is my mum is an inspiration to people who know her.

"Her positive attitude and selflessness has kept her going through out the years. She always keeps smiling and puts others first.

"It is possible to live with renal failure, and mum is a shining example of how a positive attitude can help you to survive.
clare.boyd@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk /a

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=176452&command=displayContent&sourceNode=134483&contentPK=19391409&folderPk=78482&pNodeId=134462