Two Laois sisters share a life-saving journey
Fiona McDonald (right) with her sister Emma and god daughter Katie
I always felt a deep need to share my sister Fiona's story, because stories like hers often go untold. Young adults with additional needs struggling with kidney failure are rarely spoken about. And yet, for nine long years, this was our reality.
Fiona was diagnosed with kidney disease on her 21st birthday. It should’ve been a milestone to celebrate in her life, but instead it was the beginning of the hardest chapter in our family’s life.
Fiona, now 33 years old, has a rare chromosome disorder that has affected her physical and intellectual development.
This made managing her dialysis more complex. At first, we tried peritoneal dialysis at home where she was hooked up to a dialysis machine through the night, every night.
It worked for a number of years, but Fiona struggled with it, she often pulled out the tubing, not understanding what it was for. This led to repeated infections, hospital stays and setbacks that drained all of us emotionally and physically. We’re a small family; my parents Michael and Pauline and myself, Fiona's only sibling.
Unfortunately, Fiona couldn't attend her day service centre during this time because she was so unwell. This meant she had no routine and she missed her friends. Watching someone you love suffering, especially when they can’t fully understand why, is a kind of heartbreak I can’t quite describe.
Fiona was switched to haemodialysis treatment in the hospital after peritoneal dialysis failed. The haemodialysis initially meant travelling to Waterford University Hospital for three times weekly, three hours at a time treatment, which had the extra burden of travelling an hour journey each way as we live in Ballinakill, Co Laois.
Thankfully, after a year she began treatment just a half-hour drive from home at the Kilkenny Dialysis Centre. We took it in turns to sit with her, amusing her with books, pictures and videos to avoid her pulling out the tubing. The years crawled by.
We never truly believed a transplant would happen. It always felt just out of reach.
And then, one September night nearly three years ago in 2022, the phone rang. It was Beaumont Hospital telling us that there was a donor kidney for Fiona.
We were floored. Shocked. Overwhelmed. After nine years, we had forgotten what hope really felt like. Fiona got her transplant and our lives changed overnight.
Today, she’s a different person. She’s healthy. She’s thriving. She attends Dove House in Abbeyleix, a day service for adults with intellectual disabilities, every day and she smiles more than ever. She is so much brighter. It’s hard to put into words how grateful we are to the family who made the choice to donate, they saved her life and gave ours back too.
We have sent a card anonymously through the organ donor coordinator to mark the past two transplant anniversaries and we light a candle for them at Christmas time. We don’t know who the donor family is, but we hold them in our hearts and thoughts every single day.
Over the years, our family has participated in many fundraising activities such as church gate collections, bag packing, cake sales and completing the VHI mini marathon on a few occasions. We wanted to give back to the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) which supported us along the way. Fiona enjoyed the holidays we took at the IKA holiday homes in Tramore and Killarney.
In summer 2018, inspired by Fiona’s plight when she was still on dialysis, her uncle Paul Palmer committed himself to raising organ donor awareness and supporting the IKA. He travelled through all 32 counties of Ireland on his vintage 1955 Ferguson 20 tractor. His journey, called The Ferguson 20/32 Challenge, covered almost 1,500 kilometres.
He set off from Kilkenny Castle and stopped at places like Electric Picnic, raising awareness and starting conversations about the importance of organ donation everywhere he went. His effort brought hope not just to us but raised €5,425 for the IKA, which supports other patients with kidney disease and their families.
There were times we felt invisible in the system, not sure where Fiona’s story fit. But stories like hers matter. Organ donation saves lives, even when the situation is complicated. Especially then!
I want people to know that Fiona’s life is valuable. That she’s worth fighting for. And that her story, and so many others like it, deserve to be heard.
To the family who gave us this precious gift, we will never forget you. You gave our Fiona the chance to live her life again. You gave us the opportunity to witness her transformation, to see her become the brightest, healthiest, happiest version of herself. That is a gift beyond words and one we will carry with us forever.
Through all the illness, the operations, the endless hospital days, Fiona never stopped smiling. She has always been such a happy young lady and so brave, even on the hardest days. And now, she’s even brighter. She's not just surviving anymore, she's thriving.
Organ Donor Awareness Week runs from 10-17 May, organised by the IKA in association with the HSE’s Organ Donation Transplant Ireland. The theme for the life-saving awareness campaign is ‘Don’t Leave Your Loved Ones in Doubt, Share Your Wishes about Organ Donation’.
For more information and to get an organ donor card visit www.ika.ie/donorweek/
