Dialysis patient became technician

04/26/09 07:46 AM
Q&A:Pat Barrett
Dialysis patient became technician
By Louise Continelli NEWS STAFF REPORTER

NIAGARA FALLS—Pat Barrett, a two-time kidney transplant recipient from Niagara Falls, has gone from being a dialysis patient to a dialysis technician.

He knows that more than 1,600 men, women and children in Western New York receive dialysis treatments, as often as three times a week, and that tens of thousands of Western New Yorkers suffer from chronic kidney disease.

Also, one in eight is at risk and doesn’t know it.

This afternoon, he plans to be at a National Kidney Foundation of Western New York event, featuring a kidney survivor program with a Renal Support Network representative. The event takes place from 3 to 5 p. m. in the Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway.

Barrett studied to be a kidney dialysis technician at Niagara County Community College and started working at the Niagara Renal Center in June of 2005.

Tell us about your experience with kidney disease.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 24. With no family history of this disease, I had no idea what was happening. I was admitted to the hospital and started giving myself shots of insulin. All of a sudden you have a lot more restrictions on your lifestyle.

When did you start dialysis, and what was that like?

At age 45, my kidneys failed, and I started on dialysis. Dialysis is different for everyone. It’s like having a job. You come at the same time, on the same days. You get to know the staff and other patients at the clinic. Physically, I never felt very good. What used to take me an hour to do, now took me all day.

Then you had a transplant, yes? After 2z ye 1/2 r 1/3 on dialysis, I received

my first kidney. It didn’t go very well, and after four weeks I lost the kidney

and had to return to dialysis. But I was very grateful to have had a chance.

How was your second transplant different?

Six months later, I was called again, this time for a kidney and pancreas. It’s been almost five years, and things have been as close to perfect as is possible.

In what way?

I no longer take any medication for the diabetes and have no dietary restrictions. After being sick for so long, you forget what it’s like to feel good.

We heard you broke your ankle playing basketball at the Transplant Games last year in Pittsburgh, and you’ve been recovering from that.

My main sport at the Games are the cycling events. The transplant team and the Games are a great thing. It raises awareness. I don’t know my donor or their family, so for me the Games are a way of saying, “Thank you. Look at what your gift has allowed me to do.”

Why did you become a dialysis technician?

The inspiration came from another patient, who, on my first day as a patient in the clinic, must have seen the terror in my eyes and took the time to talk to me and assure me that things would be OK. There’s nothing like talking to someone who’s been there.

Have an idea about a Niagara County resident who would make an interesting Question and Answer column? Write to: Louise Continelli, Q&A, The Buffalo News, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240, or e-mail lcontinelli@buffnews.com

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