'I’ve started jogging again, I’m back in the gym and I feel great'

When 22-year-old Michelle Barry from Nenagh received a phone call late one night in April this year from Beaumont Hospital, telling her a deceased donor kidney had become available, it was a call she and her family had been waiting years to receive.

For Michelle, a talented camogie player who represented Tipperary at underage level and was renowned for her fast pace on the pitch, the call marked the end of a difficult chapter. Kidney failure had overshadowed her college experience, disrupted her studies, forced her onto life sustaining dialysis treatment for more than three years and ultimately sidelined her from the sport she loved. After living with kidney disease since early childhood, she travelled to Dublin with her father Michael for a transplant that would transform her life.

Today, Michelle and her family are supporting the Irish Kidney Association’s fundraising appeal for the National Kidney Support Centre at Beaumont Hospital - a free ‘home away from home’ that provides overnight accommodation and day facilities for kidney patients and their families (www.supportkidneycentre.ie). The Centre which recently underwent a major refurbishment proved an invaluable support during Michelle’s transplant and recovery journey.

With Father's Day approaching, Michael says this year will be especially meaningful as he celebrates having Michelle home, healthy and recovering well following the transplant that has given her a new lease of life.

The family’s gratitude for the support they received is one of the reasons they have chosen to share their story as the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) enters the final phase of its €250,000 fundraising campaign to renovate and future-proof the National Kidney Support Centre.

Michelle’s kidney disease is believed to date back to a hospital admission when she was just two-and-a-half years old, when doctors suspected a virus may have damaged her kidneys. She was formally diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of nine and began attending Children’s Hospital Crumlin in Dublin for specialist care. At 16, she transferred to adult renal services at University Hospital Limerick under the care of Dr. Casserly. By the age of 19, her health had deteriorated significantly.

Michelle explained, “I was 19 when I began dialysis treatment, and for at least a year before I was very tired and breathless, but because it had become my normal, I didn’t realise how much my health had declined.”

Having secured a place studying Business at NUIG, Michelle was in first year when she began dialysis. “There was so much going on at once,” she recalls. “I was living away from home for the first time and suddenly I had to manage dialysis as well. Everything revolved around it. I was trying to live the normal life of a young adult, go out with friends, enjoy college life while managing treatment at my accommodation every day.”

The demands of the treatment and sickness took a toll on Michelle’s studies, forcing her to repeat a year. Her transplant which came towards the end of her final year of studies, required her to defer two of her exams until this August before beginning a graduate accounting position in September.

Michelle continued playing camogie for more than a year after starting dialysis and remained heavily involved with Nenagh Éire Óg through coaching and team management. Eventually, however, the strain of kidney failure forced her to step away from playing. “My kidneys were putting pressure on my heart, and I became very breathless when exercising. That was really what made the decision for me,” she says.

For three years she underwent daily peritoneal dialysis at home and later in her college accommodation before transferring to haemodialysis at University Hospital Limerick three times a week during the final three months before her transplant. While different treatments suit different people, Michelle found haemodialysis worked better for her and she noticed a significant improvement in her energy levels. After three years and four months on dialysis, much of it managed while living away from home and studying in Galway, Michelle finally received the call she had been waiting for.

“When you know you’re on the transplant list, you know that somebody has to pass away for that call to come,” says Michelle. “The second I got that important call, that was the first place my mind went to. Our family was receiving the best news we’d had years, but somewhere another family had just received the worst news of their lives. It’s a very surreal thing to think about.”

For Michelle’s father, Michael Barry, the National Kidney Support Centre became an invaluable source of support during those anxious days while his daughter underwent her transplant and began her recovery.

Having recently undergone hip surgery and temporarily away from his role as a caretaker with Tipperary County Council, Michael was able to travel to Dublin with Michelle when she received the transplant call. This allowed him to remain close by throughout her surgery and recovery while Michelle’s mother Breda remained at home caring for the family’s youngest child, Kyle, 11. Her sisters, Emily, 28, and Chloe, 20, anxiously awaited updates.

The family was already aware of the support available through the IKA. Michael’s cousin’s husband, Bob Kilmartin, also from Nenagh, had received a kidney transplant the previous year and benefitted from the charity’s arranged hotel accommodation while the Support Centre was closed at the time for renovation.

When Michelle received the call, Michael contacted the Support Centre, and accommodation was arranged within hours. At the time, the Centre had recently completed a major refurbishment project but had not yet formally reopened. Michelle's family became one of the first families to stay in the newly renovated building, benefiting from the upgraded accommodation and facilities during one of the most important periods of their lives.

Michael says, “The comfort and convenience of the Centre removed so much stress at the time when we wanted to focus on Michelle. I could walk over to the Hospital within three minutes and knew I was close by if Michelle needed me. The Centre’s staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and supportive.” For Michelle, knowing her father was nearby provided enormous reassurance. “Dad could stay nearby, and I always knew he was there if I needed him. It really is a home away from home,” Michelle says.

Thankfully, Michelle’s transplant was a success, and her new kidney began working immediately. One of the biggest reminders of how much life had changed for Barrys is the disappearance of dialysis supplies from the family home and life didn’t revolve around dialysis sessions. “With Home Dialysis, supplies take up so much space, says Michael. There were boxes of supplies everywhere. Now they are gone, and Michelle has her life back.”

When Michelle was discharged from hospital, she marked her recovery in a way she felt fitting. “The day after I got home from hospital after my transplant, I ordered a new hurley,” she laughs, “having already ordered a fitness and health watch online from my hospital bed.”

Now within two months post-transplant, Michelle is gradually building up her fitness and hitting sliotar most days. “My goal is to get back playing camogie,” she says. “To ensure I can continue playing camogie safely, my consultant has recommended a specialised protective belt for my transplanted kidney, which I have now ordered. I’ve started jogging again, I’m back in the gym and I feel great.”

The National Kidney Support Centre first opened in March 2000 and is located 200 meters from the entrance to Beaumont Hospital. It provides free overnight accommodation and day facilities, including a counselling room and spacious garden, for kidney patients and families travelling to Dublin for treatment, transplantation and specialist renal care. As the IKA enters the final phase of its €250,000 fundraising appeal, Michelle and her family hope others will help ensure that future families facing similar journeys can continue to access the support that meant so much to theirs.

For Michael, this Father’s Day on 21st June will have a special meaning. “Twelve months ago, Michelle was still on dialysis, and we were living with all the uncertainty that comes with kidney failure,” he says. “Now she’s doing brilliantly and looking forward to starting her new job and we’re seeing her get her life back.”

“As a father, all you want is to see your children healthy and happy. This Father’s Day, I’ll have Michelle home, my wife beside me, Emily, Chloe and Kyle all doing well, and that’s something I certainly won’t be taking for granted. We’ll be celebrating together as a family and remembering the donor family whose selfless generosity made this possible.”

To support the Irish Kidney Association’s fundraising appeal or learn more about the National Kidney Support Centre renovation project, visit www.supportkidneycentre.ie