an Organ Donor Saved Mine"
That was the start of a conversation between a truck driver and myself, at Peak Hill, a while ago. It ended at Dubbo 75klms away when he came to the end of his run, and I continued on home to Qld. We pulled up at Dubbo and my wife and I met him for two reasons. (a) He had never knowingly spoken to an Organ Transplant recipient. And (b) He had never actually met one. I made a promise to him, that I would write my story, and let it be used to highlight the great need for ORGAN DONORS and the amount of gratitude, that not only I, but also other donor recipients feel, for being given, �The Gift of Life�.
It�s 7:30pm 21st January 1993. My ex wife is about to dish up our dinner on our third wedding anniversary when the phone rings. She answers the call, and suddenly turns a very ashen colour. �It�s for you,� she says softly as she hands me the phone, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. �Hello,� I replied, knowing full well that it wasn�t good news. �Hi Ron,� Dr. Smith here �I don�t want to worry you, but I need to see you first thing in the morning, if not sooner, about your blood tests.� I mumbled something back about it being too late about worrying us, as he was a Doctor, and it was after hours. �You are on the verge of a heart attack, or stroke, and you have lost 70% of your Kidney function.� He continued. After being told an appointment time, I slowly hung up the phone. �He must have made a mistake� I thought �I only went to see him about a nose bleed. How can I be that sick, I�m only 44 years old?� My mind was racing as I turned to my best �Mate�, and as I held her tightly, I slowly repeated what the Doctor had told me. Five years earlier, she had lost her first husband to cancer, and I knew she must have been terrified of losing another. Neither of us had much sleep that night.
We both went to �That Appointment� the next morning. After about two weeks and a multitude of tests, I was diagnosed as having Adult Polycystic Kidney disease. (My father had died of the same disease back in the late sixties when he was just 48) I asked the doctor what this meant in layman�s terms, and he told me that I had a Life threatening disease, and that I could expect my condition to worsen over the next couple of years, as well as major surgery within four to six years. I continued to deteriorate until the time I collapsed, while out with my ex/ wife and a couple of friends on a fishing trip to our favorite spot, Boondooma dam. No it's not a fictitious place we Banana benders have made up.
Life's Tough
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