Sally Nagle: ‘I think of my kidney donor every day, I thank them for this life’

I’d just switched off the light above the bed, put my head on the pillow, when my phone started ringing. I thought maybe it’s my sister, something to do with my niece or nephew. 

Though I knew I was on call and had to have the phone on, I got on with life too and wasn’t always consumed with the fact I could get a call any minute.

So I sat up and answered, and a transplant coordinator from Beaumont introduced themselves and said ‘we think we have a transplant for you’. I was in shock. 

They said ‘you might want to tell your parents’. My mom was still getting ready for bed. I couldn’t get the words out, I just said ‘it’s Dublin’. 

I was excited, shocked – there are all different emotions when you’re waiting for such a call. I’d been waiting around two years.

They let me give the phone to my mother – I wasn’t going to be able to retain all the information. I ran downstairs, Dad had fallen asleep on the couch. 

I said ‘it’s Dublin, I have a call’. He jumped off the couch, into action, getting ready to go. We were on the road, Cork to Dublin, within 30 minutes.

I was born with Idiopathic Multicentric Osteolysis, a rare, arthritic-like condition, mainly affecting my hands and feet. I’m the only known case in Ireland and the UK.

My parents knew I was different from my five siblings because as a baby I’d scream when getting changed. 

I couldn’t crawl on my hands like most babies, it was extremely sore, so I used my elbows. I was five when I was diagnosed. My parents were told I could get kidney failure but it wasn’t definite.

I was 14 when I went on dialysis – 12 and a half hours every night. My parents and one of my sisters trained in home dialysis, which meant I could still go to school as much as possible. I got my first transplant two years later in 2008.

Through the years they monitored my kidney function to make sure everything was going well with the transplant. In 2018 they saw a decline. 

Early on I didn’t feel the effects but as time went on I had tiredness and fluid retention. I lost a lot of weight. They decided I needed to go back on dialysis.

My aunt was going to give me a kidney. It was 10 months of testing for her, a big act of kindness, to even offer in the first place. 

Other family members did too, but my aunt’s was the best match. We got a date for the transplant but the week before I had tests done and unfortunately my antibodies had gone really high.

There are so many challenges for someone with any illness…. I had to stay on dialysis for longer. Waiting for a transplant is hard. 

Your phone becomes a lifeline. There’s the unknown of when the call will happen, where you’ll be, what you’ll be doing.

I tried to think of the positives but dialysis brings very severe fatigue. I had to stop working. I was physically not able to commit to the work. 

I love meeting people but I couldn’t say ‘I’ll meet you for a coffee’ without having to add ‘if I’m feeling ok’.

I got the call at 12.40 that November night. By 10.30pm, not quite 24 hours later, I’d had the transplant. I felt the effects straightaway once the anaesthetic wore off. 

I felt my energy return, saw the colour in my face. Before transplant, I’d had more of a yellowy grey tone – you don’t look human, you look sick. 

Now I could see the pink flush back in my cheeks. The spark that had got deflated came back. I’m now the way I’d have known myself before I ever had kidney disease.

I’m working part-time in the new Munster Kidney Support Centre. I’m loving it – I can support other patients. 

I can plan, look forward to things, travel, swim, do fitness – all things I love. I’m not restricted by being on a diet or machine. 

The biggest thing is being there for my family, for the milestones they have going on in their lives. I have the ease and calm that comes with transplant.

I think of the donor and their family every day, when I do my everyday things without having to worry about being on dialysis. 

I’ve no way of fully thanking them for a gift so significant, not just for me, but for my family – because when you’re sick it impacts everyone.

• Sally Nagle and transplant recipients Lynda O’Mahony and Annie Foley are organising the Gift of Life Ball – all proceeds go towards upkeep of the Irish Kidney Association’s (IKA) Munster Kidney Support Centre (https://ika.ie/support-centre/munster/). 
• The ball is in memory of the late Isabel Terry, a tireless IKA campaigner and volunteer. It takes place Friday, November 15 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island. Tickets €80, or €75 per person for table of 10. Email giftoflifeball@gmail.com for tickets, or find on Facebook/Instagram.