By GILLIAN SLADE on May 22, 2019.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
A local resident who has been dealing with kidney disease since the age of 16 will be cutting the ribbon at the Medicine Hat Kidney Walk taking place on Sunday at 9 a.m.
The event kicks off at the Downtown YMCA, with the opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m.
Brittany Patzer was just 16 years old when her doctor broke the news that her kidneys were only functioning at 12 per cent. She has a genetic disorder – juvenile nephronophthisis – that affects patients as young as nine.
Throughout Grade 12 she was on dialysis three times a week, four hours each time. A month after Patzer graduated from high school there was good news.
One Sunday morning she received a phone call to say they had a donor for a life-saving kidney transplant – two kidneys from a deceased 18-month-old.
“Because the donor’s kidneys were so small, I got both of them,” said Brittany. “I am so grateful to my donor and their family.”
She recovered well and felt healthy.
Patzer then developed a really bad case of flu and was hospitalized. Her body began rejecting the new kidneys. At the age of 20 she was back on dialysis after three years without.
Being on dialysis feels a bit like a part-time job. Three times a week she is at the hospital by 7 a.m. for three-and-a-half-hours of dialysis and heads home again about 11:30 a.m. or noon. She is now back on a Canada-wide transplant list. Having previously had a transplant she now has antibodies that make her a difficult match.
Determined to forge ahead with her goals she still holds down a job as a server in a restaurant and has completed two years of biological science courses at Medicine Hat College. Her biology teacher in school was a huge inspiration to her and her dream is to become a high school biology teacher.
“School was quite hard. Some days I was not able to make it to class,” said Patzer.
Her dialysis appointments also had to be scheduled around the classes she was taking at college but both instructors and hospital staff were very accommodating, she says.
Patzer also speaks to focus groups of nursing and paramedic students to tell them about her experience with kidney disease.
She is also in the peer support program for the Kidney Foundation and visits high schools to talk to students. She says one of the most important things, other than signing your donor card, is to communicate your decision to your family. If you are ever is a situation where your organs can be donated, family members can override your decision. That is why they need to hear from you about your decision and why you want to donate your organs.
There is still some misunderstanding about living donors, said Patzer. If you want to donate one of your kidneys there is a considerable protocol to determine eligibility and if there is any doubt about your health and ability to function well with one kidney, you would not be approved.
Patzer talks about the ups and downs of coping with kidney disease and even waiting for another donor kidney at this stage. She says she has learned to take each day as it comes.
“Every day is a new day,” said Patzer. “I have to deal with this the rest of my life so I have to be positive.”
https://www.facebook.com/KidneyWalk/