Today is World Kidney Day, and we were privileged to have a kōrero with Tracey Thompson, Kaitiaki Hauora at ProCare, who shared her own story with kidney disease.

Speaking on what World Kidney Day means to her, Tracey says: “World Kidney Day is hugely important. It raises awareness that your kidneys can actually be the underlying cause of many long-term health conditions. I didn’t realise how it affected many parts of my hauora tinana (physical health).”

For Tracey, kidney disease started very early on, “I was born with kidney disease, and at the time it was not heard of that a new-born could have this disease. I remember a lot of visits to the hospital. I remember living there, having schooling there, being tested daily.”

For the most part, Tracey’s disease was manageable. However, after having children her condition started to worsen, “Kidney failure started in my forties. I had one child, and then my second child at 45 which started kidney failure to progress rapidly. I had to start preparing to either be on dialysis or have a kidney transplant. Throughout this time there was a lot of denial on my part. There was a feeling that things could be turned around if I did the right thing.”

“In 2016/17 my whānau and I started planning, the first priority was a transplant, second priority was dialysis. I had a lot of whānau test themselves to find out if they were compatible to donate one of their kidneys.

“In 2019 I had kidney a transplant. My younger sister became my donor and I noticed changes right from the start!”
Reflecting on her progress since the transplant, Tracey remarks, “Now nearly three years down the track, I am totally thankful for my sisters taonga. I live life, I live well, and I am grateful for the one kidney I have.”