‘Transplant would make a huge difference to me’

COLLECTING money for the kidney association in Wales, Marie Marshall never thought she would find herself in a similar position to those she raised money for.

Originally from John Carew Park in Limerick City, her family moved to Ennis 21 years ago. Marie said she will never forget the time spent in Wales where her three children Dwane (22), Molly (11) and Tony (six) were born.
The mother-of-three spent 10 years working at the Irish Club in Newport, South Wales. Her boss Sheila Gill, originally from Buncrana in County Donegal, always supported charitable causes like the kidney association and often looked after Irish and Munster supporters attending rugby matches in Wales.
A passionate supporter, Marie loved attending all the major international rugby games in the Millennium Stadium. In 2008, she joined thousands of Munster fans in Limerick for a rapturous homecoming celebration after the Red Army defeated Toulouse in the Heineken Cup final to collect their second crown in three years.
Two months ago she was thrilled to meet Munster star Paul O’Connell at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick. “Paul is a lovely fella. He is a great player but is very down to earth and has no airs and graces,” she said.
While working in Newport, Marie returned home for a week’s holiday on April 15, 2006. A few days later, she got a bad ’flu and ended up in the emergency department of Ennis hospital. She had previously suffered from severe headaches and had complained to her doctor in Wales but didn’t appear to be suffering from any major health problems.
All that changed when she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), which causes blood clots to form in small blood vessels around the body, resulting in a low platelet count. Preclampsia (high blood pressure accompanied by a high level of protein in the urine) was also detected, which sparked a series of health problems and long periods of hospitalisation.
As her condition deteriorated, she was sent to Dublin for a plasma exchange programme and spent seven and a half months at St Vincent’s and Tallaght Hospital, where she started receiving dialysis treatment.
At one stage, she fell into a coma and had to have her spleen removed. She also recovered from a few strokes and was eventually moved to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital under the care of consultant nephrologists, Dr Con Cronin and Liam Casserley.
She returned home to her family in Ennis for Christmas in December 2006, only to return to Limerick for another four weeks of treatment. Discharged in February 2007, Marie continues to receive haemodialysis three days a week, leaving her home in Ennis by taxi at 2.45pm for four hours of dialysis and returning home at 10.30pm.
After five years of haemodialysis, Marie said she finds it difficult to miss out on her younger children’s bedtime and relies a great deal on her mother to help look after them.
Marie has urged people to carry an organ donor card. “You only really appreciate having good kidneys when you are on haemeodialysis. Having dialysis treatment three times a week in hospital is inconvenient and places restrictions on family life.
“Getting a transplant would make a huge difference to me. It would improve my quality of life, give me more energy and allow me to see my children a lot more. I used to be a very energetic person before I developed health problems. I used to go swimming three times a week and I worked six days a week. Unfortunately, it has been a big change in my life,” she said.
Marie finds dialysis exhausting and exasperated by her low blood count, it can often take her a day to recover.
Marie paid tribute to acting clinical nurse manager, Marie Creamer in the regional renal unit for the support she gives her and other patients in the unit. “All the patients in the unit support each other. There is great camaraderie and it is like having another family,” she said.
Following a series of medical investigations, she hopes to be passed fit to go on the transplant list shortly.

Daly calls on public to carry organ donor card
DUBLIN hurling manager Anthony Daly has urged people in the Mid-West to carry an organ donor card. The former Clare All-Ireland winning captain officially launched Organ Donor Awareness Week for the Clare branch of the Irish Kidney Association (IKA), which runs until April 9.
He said he is aware of a number of people in the county who are waiting for an organ transplant. “Securing an organ transplant would help transform their lives,” he noted.
At the launch, Dr Con Cronin, consultant physician nephrologist at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital and St John’s Hospital, Limerick spoke about identifying, preventing and treating kidney disease. Beaumont Hospital transplant co-ordinator Regina Reynolds offered information on waiting for a transplant, while donor house co-ordinator counselling service, Mike Kelly discussed the psychological side to a transplant.
Clare IKA branch treasurer, Peggy Eustace said the number of people on dialysis has increased by 5% in the last year, partly due to the low level of transplants last year.
“The number of dialysis patients in the Mid-West has climbed to 160 patients, 48 of which are from Clare. The 11-station unit at the regional hospital is full to capacity seven days a week. Patients also receive treatment on the night-time shift,” she said.
The 16-station Fresenius unit at Riverside Park in Limerick also provides dialysis five days weekly with a half day on Saturday, with 20 pre-dialysis patients attending renal clinics in Limerick.
“We are aware that the lives of many Clare people have been transformed through the gift of an organ transplant. We are forever grateful for the generosity of our donor families who remembered the very ill at a time of great distress for themselves,” she said.
For an organ donor card, freetext the word DONOR to 50050. They can also be acquired at GP surgeries and pharmacies. During Organ Donor Awareness Week, IKA volunteers will be on the streets selling forget me not flower emblems, with the proceeds used to support patients on dialysis and those who have had a kidney transplant.