Woman waiting for kidney transplant encourages others to think about organ donationROSIE GILLINGHAM
Transcontinental Media
ST. JOHN’S — The day Bernadine Yetman’s daughter turned 13, she quit work and went straight to bed.
It wasn’t how she wanted to spend June 7, 2005.
A vibrant St. John’s nurse who loved her two children, Yetman would have much rather finished her day’s work and then joined in the birthday celebrations.
But she had no choice but to rest.
The 49-year-old has been battling a serious kidney disease and dealing with it has been exhausting.
“I can’t describe to you how draining it is,” said Yetman. “You’re always so tired. That’s the main symptom.”
Since she was diagnosed with IGA nephrology in 1983, she’s found she’s had to give up a lot.
Since it affects the body’s immune system, she’s often too weak to do the smallest of chores. She’s had three surgeries, undergoes home dialysis three times a week, has developed several infections in her neck from the link that was inserted for the dialysis and has low blood pressure.
“I have good days and bad days,” she said, “but the symptoms are worse as time goes on.”
As a nurse, she recognized symptoms, which included blood in her urine and constant respiratory infections.
“The symptoms are so subtle. Most times, a person is in total failure before they know they have the disease,” she said. “It’s a silent killer.
“But where I was aware of it, I knew where this was headed.”
She also had a family history of kidney disease. Her grandfather died at age 45, and her brother Francis died of kidney cancer in 1999.
Her other brother, Ed, had a kidney transplant 30 years ago.
Now, she’s the one who needs a transplant.
Yetman has been on the waiting list for three years. Since she doesn’t have a personal donor, she’s had to wait and pray for a call telling her she can fly to Halifax for transplant surgery.
“When I first went on the list, they said it was a two to three year wait. Now, it’s three to five years,” she said. “You just hope and pray you’re next.”
The most recent statistics from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, from 2006, indicate there were 4,265 Canadians on the organ transplant list. Of those, 2,160 people received transplants. Close to 200 died waiting.
According to Eastern Health, 60-70 people in this province are awaiting transplants. The majority of them need kidney transplants.
Sandra White, program co-ordinator of the province’s Organ Donor Program, said too many patients on Canada’s organ transplant list die waiting.
Educating the public about the importance of donating is part of the message being delivered this week during Organ Donor Awareness Week (April 20-26).
“Organ transplantation is the only surgical procedure which depends entirely on the generosity of others,” White said.
“Therefore, it is vitally important that people make the decision to donate this gift of life, while they are still able to make that choice for themselves.”
Yetman seconds that.
She would love nothing more than to have another chance at living a normal life again.
“This disease affects my life and my family’s life so much,” she said.
“I can’t do things like go on family vacations or go out with my friends for a night because I know I have dialysis at 6 a.m. the next morning. It’s really difficult.
“A transplant would give me my life back.”
She’s surprised how few people in this province are willing to donate their organs after death and hopes attitudes change.
“Just think about it — after you’re gone, you’d be leaving a part of yourself and leaving so much happiness,” she said.
“I wish more people would come forward and agree to donate … because it really is the gift of life.”
http://www.thewesternstar.com/index.cfm?sid=128780&sc=25
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