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Megan Radclyffe (left) and Lynne Canham celebrating their civil partnership |
Internet encounter saves woman’s life
Journalist waiting to undergo kidney transplant urges more donors to come forward
WHEN Megan Radclyffe first met her future partner online, she had no idea the encounter would save her life.
Now, six years on, Ms Radclyffe is preparing to receive a gift that could add 20 years to her life – a kidney from her civil partner Lynne Canham.
Ms Canham, who lives in Oregon, is preparing to move to England to take part in the treatment.
Freelance journalist Ms Radclyffe, 42, only discovered she had polycystic kidneys when she was tasked to write a feature on alternative therapies.
The reflexologist she was interviewing took one look at her feet and told her in the strongest terms she must get her kidneys checked out.
This chance discovery 17 years ago triggered a lifesaving chain of events that will culminate with Ms Radclyffe receiving her transplant next year.
She said: “Lynne just said to me one day ‘How about I get tested?’ I said ‘You’re my partner, that’s a big ask’. But she said she wasn’t asking, she was telling me. I was sort of railroaded into it.”
Ms Canham has now had preliminary tests, which so far appear to match.
Ms Radclyffe said: “I worry about my body rejecting the transplant, psychologically as well as physically. It’s difficult because I’m not in the situation yet but I can only imagine. The worst that can happen is I’m stuck on dialysis for a bit longer until another kidney comes along. The waiting list is about seven years but if you get a donor from a friend or family it can be a lot quicker.”
Ms Radclyffe, of Camden Road, who has unknowingly had the condition since birth, said: “My kidneys are filled with cysts and this breaks down the tissues which means it can’t always function. It also affects my bones. My kidneys are growing so large it presses against other organs and it’s so painful. It presses against my lungs and I get out of breath.”
At the moment, Ms Radclyffe’s kidneys have wound down to only having 5 per cent of their usual capacity.
She said: “I can’t bend over, back pain is particularly prevalent so I’ll sit for 10 minutes, then have to move. Housework is difficult – so is travelling on the bus.
“People aren’t aware, they just think you’re pregnant or fat. It has changed my physical appearance. I now have this pronounced bulge between my diaphragm and my stomach.”
Ms Radclyffe will begin dialysis at the Royal Free Hospital in two weeks, when she has one of her kidneys removed, in preparation for her transplant.
She said: “The team I’ve met at the Royal Free have been superb.”
Over the years as her condition worsened, Ms Radclyffe found she could no longer continue working as a freelance reporter.
She fills her time with amateur photography and writing her online blog.
She said: “It can get a little boring. If it really wasn’t for the net I’d go quite mad. I look up things that interest me, write in my journal and talk to other people.
“I do get quite angry about this disease and this position I’m in. The internet gives me the space to vent.”
Ms Radclyffe, who hopes to return to work after her transplant, is urging people to come forward to become organ donors. She said: “Every time I read about a donor it restores my faith in humanity. There are altruistic people out there who help just because they can.
“There are a lot of families who won’t allow organs to be taken but I think the law should be changed so that donation is mandatory, and people should have to opt out of being a donor rather than opting in.”
The current system allows people to carry donor cards if they want their organs to be used in the event of their death.
To others with the same condition as hers, she says: “Get as much support as you can and try and manage your pain – if you don’t you can get depressed.
“There are lots of books and groups online. Before the internet really took off, for the first 10 years I felt I was the only person on the planet with this disease.
“I’m a lot more positive than I used to be. Ten years ago this was a death sentence.
“Ten years ago, you would expect to die in your 40s. I now know I’ve got another 20 years on top of that.”
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