Kidney sisters reflect on a year without dialysis

A year ago Thursday two Prince Edward Island women received a phone call that would change their lives.

Annie MacDonald and Kim Moncion didn't know each other then but they share a special bond now. They each have a kidney from the same donor.

"It's still unbelievable to me that I'm better," said MacDonald.

"It still feels to me like this is a dream. How can this be?"

For four years, MacDonald had been going to the hospital three times a week for dialysis. She was used to getting calls from the health system. When the call came about the donor it was a shock.

"She said, 'You might want to sit down for a second,' and then I knew right away. I couldn't even talk to her for the first minute. I just hyperventilated and cried," she said.

Not far away Moncion was getting a similar call. It was perhaps even more of a shock for her. She had only been on the list for four weeks, but the donor was a good match for her.

Moncion had not even packed a bag yet but with a kidney waiting, there was no time to lose. Soon both women were on their way to Halifax for the transplant surgery.

'I was trapped'

A year later they are both thriving.

"You don't realize how sick you are until you start feeling better," said Moncion.

For MacDonald, the biggest change is not having to spend time at the hospital on dialysis three times a week.

"I was trapped to the hospital and the machine," she said.

"I had a catheter in my chest that I wasn't able to get wet, so there was four years where I could not have a shower or go swimming. I went swimming in the ocean this summer and it felt amazing."

'Her name was Grace'

Moncion used a different kind of dialysis, and was able to use her own equipment. It was a machine that she developed a curious emotional attachment to.

"My dialysis machine, I had named it. Her name was Grace," she said.

"She kept me alive. I get emotional talking about it. When it came time to let her go it was kind of tough."

But Moncion has also found new freedom. She had to hook herself up to Grace three times a day to clean her blood.

And while dialysis keeps you alive, it doesn't keep you as healthy as a functioning kidney will. MacDonald has energy to play with her son now that she never had before.

Writing a special letter

The one-year anniversary marks the end of an important waiting period. Moncion and MacDonald can now write to the family of their donor, and express their thanks for the new lives they have been given.

They don't know much about the donor, just that the person was young, and the death was unexpected.

"There's not a day goes by that I don't think about that individual and their family," said Moncion.

"A year is good that we have to wait," said MacDonald.

"Not only for them as a family — that they have to deal with their loss — also for us, because it's a lot to take in."

Both women will also mark a year off dialysis by taking part in another Kidney Foundation Walk.

Moncion said she works to raise awareness about kidney disease because the disease is invisible. You might not be aware how many people you meet are affected.

"The walk is important just to get people out there to know that people are sick," she said.

The walk in Charlottetown is in Victoria Park on Sept. 9. The Summerside walk is Sept. 23.

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With files from Island Morning