Cape Town - When Vanessa Lombard’s older sister, Ronel Schmidt, urgently needed a kidney transplant, at just 25-years-old at the time, Lombard never gave it a second thought and bravely offered to be her donor.
The sisters recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Schmidt’s kidney transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH).
Schmidt, now 51, said she had terrible headaches as a teenager and decided to go for a medical check-up, not knowing what was to come from it.
“Through blood tests it showed that I had kidney disease. I continued going for my regular check-up’s every six months. I started making healthier choices and... lost 20kg just by eating healthier,” she said.
However, when Schmidt turned 30 years old her doctor informed her that she needed a kidney transplant.
Devastated, Schmidt said she shared the news with her mother, Shirley Geere.
“A lot of emotions were going through my mind at the time. I was scared. My sister Vanessa heard me speaking to my mother. She said ‘you can have mine’. It was a no-brainer for her. She said ‘if you want it, it is yours’,” Schmidt said.
Rigorous health testing and counselling was done on Lombard, and she found to be a perfect donor match.
Lombard, now 45, said she remembers overhearing her emotional sister confiding in her mother.
“I remember being in my room and overhearing her tell my mom that she would need a kidney transplant very soon. I never gave it a second thought...I came out of the room and told her that if she needed a kidney she could have mine.
“I would not say that I was scared...I was just more relieved that this was finally going to happen and Ronel would be able to lead a normal happy life,“ she said.
Lombard said nothing much has changed, as they both continued to lead normal lives.
They said going through the life-changing journey has made their relationship stronger.
“Life has been amazing. I am able to live a very normal and happy life. I have an amazing son who has just turned 15 so I would say I am very blessed. I believe Ronel and I have become much closer as sisters. She has been there for me through difficult times in my life and vice versa. We are both blessed to have each other,” Lombard said.
Schmidt said she lives life to the fullest and has been ticking off a number of boxes on her “bucket list”, including zip lining and mountain climbing.
She said she takes her health seriously and teaches classes at a gym twice a week, while still working at a school and raising her daughter.
“Obviously there have been little bumps in the road. “But it also helps that I am a non - smoker and lead a healthy lifestyle. I do look after myself and what I eat, which is very important. I have been given the gift of life and I want to live life to the fullest,” Schmidt said.
Dr Zunaid Barday, a nephrologist at Groote Schuur Hospital said they have performed 2 900 kidney transplants since 1968.
“I think some people don’t want to be living donors because they feel like this will place them at a high risk of developing kidney failure themselves, which is not true. We only use donors who are at low risk themselves. They might also be scared of being in hospital, having a big scar (we mostly do laparoscopic surgery now, so scars are small/hidden),” said Barday.
Goodwood Community Day Centre (CDC) Dr Venter Snyman said the most common causes of kidney failure is poorly controlled blood pressure (hypertension) and poorly controlled sugar (diabetes) that can affect kidney health.
“We can protect our kidneys if we maintain good control over these two diseases.
“Other causes would be severe urinary tract infections, blocked urinary tracts, overuse of certain drugs, especially anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and heart failure.”
She added that drinking enough water – about 1.5 litres a day – only using prescribed drugs or over the counter drugs can help protect the kidneys.
Cape Times
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