By Bre McAdam

Nipawin woman shares ‘miraculous’ transplant story

May 23, 2015 | 8:53 AM

Before her kidney transplant, Debbie Posehn says her life felt like it was being controlled by her dialysis. She was constantly cold, tired and irritated. Food didn’t taste good, her legs twitched at night and she couldn’t go swimming, something she used to love to do.
 
Then in November 2014, the 53-year-old woman from Nipawin got the phone call that would change her life. Posehn is one of four Saskatchewan residents who received a kidney transplant because of the Highly Sensitized Patient Program. 
 
“I really never thought it was going to happen. I really thought that I would just be on dialysis the rest of my life,” she said.
 
The national program, which officially launched Friday, allows hard-to-match recipients access to donors from across Canada instead of only within their province. Highly sensitized patients struggle to find donors because they’ve developed antibodies that will attack a new kidney unless it is an exact match.
 
According to her transplant doctor, Posehn was considered 98 per cent highly sensitized with a one in 1,000 chance of receiving a successful transplant. About 20 per cent of people on provincial wait lists are considered highly sensitized, but less than one per cent of them receive the organ they need.
 
Since miraculously finding her donor through the HSP program, Posehn said her quality of life has drastically improved. She’s back at work, has more energy and looks forward to meeting her grandchild this summer.
 
“And on dialysis I thought ‘how am I ever going to be a good grandma, hooked up to the machine all the time and I’m always tired,’ but now that just doesn’t seem like an issue,” Posehn said.
 
“I’m really looking forward to a better life.”

panews@jpbg.ca

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