Clare Duggan was spening too much time a day on dialysis and giving up on life when she received a precious gift on a stranger.
At the age of six, Clare Duggan was told you have type 1 diabetes.
A string of great illnesses followed including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, an underactive thyroid, and medical-induced lupus.
In 2011, Clare was devastated when she experienced kidney failure and dialysis became her lifeline.
“Being so ill while was maturing, I always felt are over the age my years,” says Clare, 34, of Perth in Western Australia.
“After I left school, my world imploded. I rebelled and didn’t address myself and so i became sicker and physically categorised.”
The worst was yet to come
In 2010, within a holiday in Thailand, Clare developed the very first of a few serious bladder infections and found myself in hospital.
After yearly or so of infections, Clare was explained a kidney specialist.
“He advised me I had kidney failure, I needed to start dialysis and I would need a kidney transplant,” recalls Clare.
“That left the blue for my situation. I had to dig my fingernails into my leg to try and stay calm. The area turned the other way up and I left his room and eliminate in tears.”
Clare struggled with dialysis and chose peritoneal dialysis by using a long tube from her stomach. She was on dialysis for 10 hours every hour.
‘I found the dialysis unsightly – I felt like Frankenstein’
“I couldn’t wear tight clothes because you’d see the tube,” says Claire.
“I must be in bed by using a certain time nightly to do the dialysis of course, if the machine broke down, I felt awful.
“My life was on hold. I could not make plans, even for the short term. I could not go on holiday i tried to date but that never worked out.
“On a day while i felt well, I was able to go to the local shopping centre where you can sandwich. I felt very isolated.”
Clare lived in limbo, knowing her future leaned on a stranger – an organ donor.
A life-changing phone call
In 2019, that gift arrived when Clare were pancreas and kidney transplant because, at the same time, her pancreas was damaged by diabetes.
“My phone rang at three o’clock one morning. Then mum’s phone rang and then mine rang again,” says Clare.
“It was the transplant team saying they had a donor i had to be in Sydney in a very few hours.
“As soon since i hung up, I vomited with nerves.”
Clare’s six-hour operation went smoothly. At enoromus speed she did start feel more energetic and her diabetes disappeared.
She may possibly study and work again and is particularly now studying nursing as a way of honouring her donor as well as family.
“I feel good about enjoying now, however also feel sad that a person lost their life. For an extended time, I didn’t feel deserve such a gift,” says Clare.
“If someone hadn’t become a donor to do, I probably may not be alive today. Now i am thankful daily.”
The a comparison of organ donation
DonateLife Week is produced by July 28 to August 4. Show your support by registering as an organ and tissue donor after which you can talking about deciding with your family and friends.
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Written by Sarah Marinos.
