03/04/2024
Hi! My name is Kate Deines, and I just turned 50 years old.
When I was five, I learned I had Type 1 Diabetes. It’s a very difficult disease to control, especially when you’re that young. But throughout my life, I have carefully and successfully managed my diabetes by controlling my diet, exercising and monitoring my blood sugar. Diabetes didn’t stop me from adventures. I played tennis, volleyball and hiked. I was a Girl Scout, earning the Gold Award. I even hiked in the Alps. In high school, I was part of a life-changing delegation to Nicaragua. I graduated from college and worked in a variety of jobs with young people.
To the best of my ability, I’ve worked hard to balance my medical and lifestyle restrictions so I can lead an active life and be there for the people I love. The last 15 years, though, have presented new challenges.
In 2010, I developed a very rare autoimmune disease (microscopic polyangiitis, MPA) that attacks my lungs, causing them to bleed. It took some years to diagnose this, and that was an anxious period of my life. But once again, I was able to control a challenging condition with medication and lifestyle adjustments.
In March 2022, I had a heart attack while at a basketball tournament in North Carolina. It was the result of cardiovascular disease secondary to diabetes. Some wonderful doctors performed a quintuple bypass on my heart. The dye they used during one procedure damaged my kidneys, already stressed from over 40 years with diabetes.
I’m now coping with maybe my most difficult health complication: kidney failure.
Immediately after my open-heart surgery, I started kidney dialysis immediately. It hasn’t been easy. I attend dialysis three times a week for four and a half hours each session. This takes up a lot of my time, but the most challenging part is how hard dialysis is on my body — and how much harder it’s becoming. Dialysis keeps me alive but saps my strength and endurance and makes me feel sick. Additionally, it is only a short-term solution for me. Receiving dialysis means medical staff have to have access two blood vessels, and I have two access points fail already. Due to these failures and other health issues, I am quickly running out of ways to get dialysis. Right now I have a temporary access in my chest but it is highly susceptible to infection and can’t stay in much longer.
One reason I am sharing my story now is that I am on the University of Kentucky’s approved transplant list. This list is for a kidney from a deceased donor. The average waiting time is 3 to 7 years.
My medical team says that, due to the urgency and my age, a donation from a living donor is my best option. So, I’m now searching for a matching donor who would consider offering a kidney to me.
Living kidney donation is an amazing gift that enables people like me to return to a fuller, healthier and more productive life. With continuing advances in this area, donating a kidney is a very safe option with minimal recovery time and no cost to the donor. Donors continue to lead normal lives with only one kidney. If you or someone you know would like more information or would like to find out about becoming a donor, I have listed a link below.
There are many ways you can help if you do not feel being a living donor is something you can do. Please consider signing the back of your driver’s license to be a deceased donor. One person can save up to 8 lives and improve over 75 more! Also, please consider sharing this story so that more people can become aware of diabetes, kidney disease, and organ donation.
Thank you for taking the first step to be evaluated as a potential living kidney donor. Please complete the following questionnaire. All fields in this form are required to be asked. If a question does not apply to you, simply enter N/A in that field.
