FIVE years ago, Kevin Bowen’s life was irrevocably changed by a generous gift from his sister – a kidney.
“To be honest, I wake up every day and think of it, you can’t do anything else – you roll over and think, how good do I feel, and you have to attribute that to her gesture,” Mr Bowen told The Guardian.
Mr Bowden was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006, with the illness slowly progressing until 2018, when he was then put on peritoneal dialysis. While this dialysis allowed Mr Bowen to continue working normally during the day, he would then come home and be on dialysis from 4.30pm until 6am.
“That was the routine every day, which made it difficult to have any sort of social life at all – it was depressing to be on it,” he said.
It was then that Mr Bowen’s sister, Vicki, offered to donate one of her kidneys.
“She has been the hero right throughout this story, she has been magnificent,” Mr Bowen said.
On August 29, 2018, Mr Bowen had the operation to receive the lifesaving gift from his sister.
“From that moment, and I don’t know whether it was the adrenalin or the fact that my kidneys were now working, but I felt absolutely sensational,” he said.
“As they are wheeling me back from recovery to ward, I was sitting up, having a chat, and it was probably the best I had felt since I was originally diagnosed.
“You look at my life now in comparison to what it was, that inconvenience that I had from dialysis obviously no longer exists, so I am much freer to do the things that I want to do.
“But more importantly, my wife Cath has her own health issues, so I am able to be her carer now, whereas if I was still on dialysis and had kidney disease, I wouldn’t be fit enough to do it, and I don’t know what her life would be.”
This week is DonateLife Week and Mr Bowen is encouraging people to have a discussion about organ donation and to consider opting in to be an organ donor to potentially save a life.
“If you happen to be a live donor, then you also get the benefits of living with the fact that you have helped someone immeasurably with the rest of their lives – you’ve given a gift that no one else can give, and it really transforms people’s lives,” he said.
“If you are a deceased donor, then your gesture not only saves one, it probably saves upwards of seven lives.
“ I think knowing that, your family would know that even in the worst time of your life and their life, you’ve been able to make other people’s lives so much better – you’ve turned lives around, and they can continue on with a life that they couldn’t have otherwise.
“It’s a magical gift.”
Becoming an organ donor takes only one minute, and could give someone a lifetime. To register, visit www.donatelife.gov.au or use the Medicare app.
