Ewa Szumacher

I wanted to give you an update on my health and my search for a kidney donor. At a recent appointment my transplant surgeon gave me some important news. He told me that because of radiation treatments I received during my teenage years, I am more suited to receive a kidney from a deceased donor rather than a living kidney donor.

This was shocking but I soon found out there is a silver lining to this news and my search for a living donor does not stop here. He told me that if I can find a kidney donor who is willing to donate a kidney through the Paired Exchange Program, I would be moved to the top of the deceased donor transplant list and could potentially receive a deceased donor kidney within weeks instead of years.

This extends the pool of potential donors who can donate to ALL BLOOD TYPES and antibodies. So, I am now widening my appeal to a larger network of friends and colleagues in the hopes of finding a potential donor who would be willing to donate a kidney so I can receive a deceased donor kidney as soon as possible. In effect, you would donate a kidney so I could receive a deceased donor kidney in months rather than 6-7 years.

My family and friends have been wonderful, and several people have already stepped up to be tested to be a living donor, including my husband Jacek; unfortunately, all of them have been disqualified as potential donors due to some health issues.

I have been living with kidney disease for a number of years. Until recently, I have been able to manage the impacts of this chronic illness while maintaining a relatively normal lifestyle. However, over the last year, the disease has progressed such that my kidneys do not work well enough to keep me alive. In July, I started hemodialysis at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre three times per week for four hours each session. I have found dialysis to be a very difficult and grueling treatment; I honestly had no idea how hard it would be. Most of the time I feel trapped, nauseous, tired, and depressed.

Due to this decline in my health, I made the very difficult decision to retire early from my radiation oncology practice at Sunnybrook, where I treated several hundred cancer patients and conducted research for almost three decades. It is work that I loved and work that I hope to go back to if I am fortunate enough to receive a transplant.

While regular dialysis treatments will keep me alive for a limited period of time, a transplant is the only alternative which would restore my previous quality of life. Also weighing heavily on me is that dialysis itself creates additional complications and health decline which will reduce my eligibility for transplant year after year. Finding a kidney donor is not easy and time is not on my side. Usually, the estimated waiting time for a deceased transplant donor with my blood type O is 6–7 years—the longest of any blood type—which is why I started the difficult search for a living kidney donor about a year ago.

I am sure you can imagine that asking someone to consider donating a kidney on my behalf is very difficult. As a potential kidney donor, you would be carefully assessed by your donor medical team and well taken care of. If there are any concerns that your health will be negatively affected, you will not be allowed to proceed. I am told that, most often, the donor surgery is now done laparoscopically, leaving minimal scarring.

A kidney transplant would significantly improve my quality of life and allow me to spend more time with my beloved family and friends, as well as with my dog, Ben. I am in the fight for my life, and I have much more life to live! If you have ever considered being a kidney donor or helping to save a life, please consider finding out more.

For more information or to learn more details of my story, please contact me or my husband.

Call Ewa: 416-562-2430
Email Ewa: ewaszumacher3@gmail.com

Call Jacek: 416-829-3296
Email Jacek: jacek.szumacher8@gmail.com

I appreciate the gravity of my request and would like to sincerely thank you for taking the time to read my story. Since sharing my appeal as widely as possible is the first step to finding a donor, please feel free to share my story with anyone who might be willing to help.

Sincerely,

Ewa Szumacher