Like many long-time friends, Marilyn Bruzzese and Denise Mulholland have shared plenty in their 44 years together and this past summer they shared something that changed their lives. They share a kidney.
“I feel fabulous,” said Ms Mulholland, who received the kidney from Mrs. Bruzzese on July 13. “While I was still in recovery, I felt the difference right away. I got up and walked down the hall to Marilyn’s room.”
Mrs. Bruzzese laughs at the recollection. “And then you went right back!”
“I was exhausted by the surgery,” Ms Mulholland retorts. “And still feeling the effect of the drugs but I just had to see her. I had to let her know what she’d given me.”
“They put us in the same room later,” said Mrs. Bruzzese. “It saved us a lot of miles up and down the hall.”
“And visitors could see us both at the same time,” adds Ms Mulholland.
Mrs. Bruzzese, a buyer in Southlake’s purchas-ing department, is one of a growing number of living donors making a difference in the lives of transplant patients. In Canada, too many people wait years for a transplant organ, often in deteriorating condition and enduring long term- treatment plans.
Ms Mulholland had been diagnosed with kidney disease 12 years ago: a complication of Crohns disease and its related medications. “Kidney disease doesn’t run in my family,” she said. “It just happened and it’s just the way I lived.”
The biggest impact was dietary and a strict limitation on liquid consumption. “Nobody really knew I was a kidney patient.”
Even when Ms Mulholland entered into a dialysis program, requiring three visits a week to a Toronto hospital, and became a candidate for transpant, few outside her immediate circle knew anything about it. When her siblings lined up to be tested as prospective donors, Mrs. Bruzzese was right there with them — coming up a better match than Ms Mulholland’s own sisters.
“Actually, it’s not that unusual,” said Ms Mulholland. “We both have a pretty common blood type and the medications to discourage tissue rejection mean blood relatives are not the only donors available. It was Marilyn’s excellent health that made her the best candidate.
“That, and her being the kind of person who can do this,” she said. “What does it say about the sort of selfless, loving person she is ... to give so much of herself to make such a difference for me.”
“How could I not do it?” said Mrs. Bruzzese. “As soon as I saw the dialysis room ... it was just terrible to think of Denise going through this three times a week ... and it would be years before she came close to the top of a donor list.
“This wasn’t an emotional decision. I did my research, I talked to doctors, my family, to Denise. I spoke with the Kidney Foundation and the Trillium (Gift of Life Network) ... but it was that room, that process, that sealed it. It opened my eyes right up.”
Both women agree the public should be more aware of the benefits of being a living donor. “There are 1,100 people waiting for donation right now,” said Mrs. Bruzzese, “And a lot of them could be helped by a living donor.”
“And I can hardly begin to tell you what it means to the recipient,” said Ms Mulholland. “I not only feel better, I’m living better. I have the time back that used to be spent in dialysis to do other things. I have energy. I have an unrestricted diet for the first time in a long time: I’m cooking.” She laughs and eyes her friend suspiciously. “And I’m craving some of Marilyn’s favourite foods!”