How a kidney named ‘George’ changed a life

How a kidney named ‘George’ changed a life, forging a bond between two young nurses
JAMIE BAKER
Transcontinental Media

ST. JOHN’S — Twenty-five-year-old Robyn Murphy is a striking woman with a million-watt smile, who looks like she could star in a California surfer movie.

You’d never guess that little more than a month ago she was undergoing a kidney transplant.

Call it the ultimate Christmas present — Murphy, a nurse, has been given a new lease on life thanks to her colleague and close friend Linda Dalley.

“I mean, she was my angel. She gave me a second chance at life … there’s no greater gift,” Murphy says. “I have to pinch myself daily and ask, is this really my life? Did this really happen? How was this selfless individual brought into my life?”

“You feel poorly for a couple of weeks so someone else can feel better forever — it’s a pretty good feeling to give somebody new life,” Dalley says with a shrug.

A wife and mother of three, she only met Murphy through work just over a year ago.
Murphy was only two when she was diagnosed with a kidney problem. When she turned 15, the doctors told her the condition was genetic.

“We were told that after a period of time it would require transplantation, but we expected it would be when she was 50 or 60,” explained Murphy’s mother, Denese, who is also a nurse.

In April 2005, Murphy was in the process of graduating from Memorial University’s nursing school. It should have been one of the happiest times in her life.

Instead, she was told her condition had worsened much more quickly than had been anticipated. Dialysis would be required within a year and, in October 2005, her name was added to the transplant list.

The young nurse went to work in cardiology at the Health Sciences Centre until January 2006 when the physical strain became too much. That February she started dialysis — three-hour sessions at the clinic three days a week.

“I thought my life was over. I was devastated. I was in denial, big time,” Murphy recalled. “For a while I became very isolated. I wanted to stay home and not go out.
“You go through the phases of ‘Why me?’ But then you have to ask, ‘Why not me? What makes me different?’ This was my challenge, so I dealt with it.”

In September 2006, she landed a job with Fonemed, a call-centre health service. The job allowed her to continue in her field in a less physically strenuous environment.
She told nobody about her condition early on — including her new friend, Dalley.

But she couldn’t keep her secret for long.

“Eventually it came out because the shifts were taking a toll and I had to tell them. Everyone was pretty shocked,” she says, as Dalley nods in agreement.

“I couldn’t believe that she was sick. She didn’t look sick,” Dalley says. “I thought, wow, I would be so bitter if this was me. She was always smiling.”

Although they had been friends only a few months, Dalley asked what she could do to find out if her kidney was a match.

After getting the blessing of her family and her doctor, Dalley met with the transplant team at the Waterford Hospital in St. John’s and for the next few months underwent a battery of tests.

“I felt like it was something I needed to do. That was why she took the job there, that’s why we ended up working together — it was fate. Everything happens for a reason,” Dalley says.

The next thing either of them knew, the call came from Halifax.

Surgery was scheduled for Oct. 24.

Murphy, by her own admission, was a nervous wreck.

Dalley maintained her sense of humour, joking that she didn’t mind giving her friend a kidney “because I had one to spare.”

“Even the day of the surgery there was no doubt in my mind,” Dalley says. “She would have done the same for me.”

Before the operation, they jokingly agreed the kidney would be named “George” — Dalley’s maiden name.

As it turned out, “George’s” transition to his new residence was seamless.

Even in her medicated state following the operation, Murphy wanted her friend to know how well things had gone. She told her mother to tell Dalley she loved her and that “George loves his new condo.”

Dalley returned home just four days after the procedure and Murphy followed a few weeks later. They are both back to work, although Fonemed has set things up so that Murphy can work from home for awhile.

“My life is fabulous. I have a whole new perspective, a whole new appreciation just to be alive and to live. I feel wonderful,” Murphy says, adding that the only gift she’s asked for this Christmas is a MedicAlert bracelet.

“I’ve already been given the greatest gift.”

The two are quick to give credit for the support received from friends and family, their work, the doctors and nurses involved in the dialysis, the testing and the actual transplant.

Murphy’s mother — whom she calls “my rock” — plans to donate one of her kidneys and hopes others will do the same after seeing the difference such a gift can make.

Dalley and Murphy encourage others to consider kidney donation, as well.

“Many people don’t know you can give a kidney,” Dalley says. “An awful lot of people are out there waiting for a kidney and you don’t have to be a family member to do it.”

Murphy reminds those waiting on donor lists not to throw in the towel.

“Never give up faith, never give up hope,” she says.

“Your miracle will come. Mine did.”

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