March is Kidney Health Month and one Chatham woman is sharing her story to help others.
Angela Stewart, 49, was born with polycystic kidney disease, a disorder in which clusters of cysts develop within your kidneys - causing them to enlarge and eventually lose function.
She lived a healthy life, up until about two years ago, and then her kidneys started to fail.
"There is nothing you can really do to stop this disease because it progresses over time," said Stewart. "When I was around 47, my kidneys fell to about 20 per cent. My nephrologist then suggested starting transplant testing, which is a whole year-long process that involves lots and lots of tests."
She had hoped to go from kidney failure to a transplant, but the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans. Stewart caught the virus and that forced her to be put on dialysis.
"When my kidneys failed, I felt that I had failed as well," said Stewart. "I was completely exhausted. I would get charlie horses, cramps in both my hands and feet, I had no appetite. It was a hard year."
While Stewart was on dialysis, her 74-year-old father put his name in to be a potential donor. He went through all of the tests, passed them, and became her transplant donor.
"I felt like due to his age, I was nervous about him undergoing surgery for me but at the same time I knew I was going to die without it," said Stewart. "I was very grateful but I was also concerned for him at the same time."
Since the transplant, Stewart said both she and her father have been living healthy and active lives. Now, she is sharing her story in the hope that more people will sign up to become organ and tissue donors.
"There's a lot of people sitting on dialysis who don't need to be," said Stewart. "If I could help even just one person get off of that. Dialysis is horrible, it is just awful and a lot of us don't need to be there."
According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, 77 per cent of Canadians waiting for an organ transplant are waiting for a kidney. The average wait time for a kidney from a deceased donor is three and a half years.
"For the first time in my life, I can make plans and I know I am going to be around," said Stewart. "I didn't even know if I was going to be around to see my daughter graduate high school. By being an organ donor, you're giving someone the opportunity to enjoy their lives."
Kidney Walks will be held in the fall this year across Ontario. For more information about Kidney Health Month, you can visit the Kidney Foundation of Canada's website.