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JP enjoying life with new kidney
08.09.11
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
A CARNDONAGH man who underwent a successful kidney
transplant operation in May is enjoying a whole new
quality of life.
After almost seven years on the waiting list, father
of four JP Bradley, aged 64, got the call that every
transplant patient wants, on May 9 last.
“I got a phone call at 3.20 in the morning. I was
told that there was a kidney for me and to get to
Beaumont Hospital as soon as possible. A car arrived
at the door within minutes and I was in the ward
before 7am,” he said.
“It was such a whirlwind day. The next thing I knew
I was being wheeled into surgery. I didn’t know what
was happening. I was a bit scared but I was over the
moon at the same time,” JP added.
JP’s world came crashing down almost ten years ago
when he suffered total renal failure; his kidneys
were ‘gone’.
“I was devastated. To be told – you will need
dialysis for the rest of your life and that a kidney
transplant is your only hope, I couldn’t believe it.
I thought the bottom had fallen out of my world,” he
said. |
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JP Bradley whose life has been
transformed by a kidney transplant. |
Apart from arduous
journeys to Letterkenny every other day, GAA fanatic
JP had no energy and could only drink 800ml of fluid
per day. Now he is a man transformed.
“I have energy and I can eat and drink what I like.
It’s a whole new ball game now. I was even able to
cut my hedge last week for the first time in years.
I’ll not run up many hills but it feels great!” he
said.
After undergoing dialysis three days a week for much
of the last decade, retired driver JP thought his
chance of a new kidney had gone.
“I thought when I reached 60 that I was too old. I
was one of the lucky ones to find a donor match. I
would appeal to other older people to think about
carrying a donor card because I know many people
over the age of 60 who are still waiting for
kidneys,” he said.
“There is no point in putting a new engine in an old
car I suppose,” JP joked.
During a two-week post-operative stay at Beaumont in
Dublin, members of JP’s family - including wife
Breide and sons and daughters, Sean, Maria, Martina
and Terence – stayed free of charge at a ‘renal
house’ in the hospital grounds. Now JP is set to
raise money so that other families may stay there
too. He is selling €5 tickets for a draw with a
40-inch LCD TV as the top prize. |
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