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Paul Hudson - How my transplant has saved my life

14 Feb 2007

I received my kidney from my sister Alison on the 16^th April 2003 a couple of weeks after my 21^st birthday.

This is a date that I will always remember as it is the day that my life changed forever.

First of all in my relationship with my sister, we have always been close but I believe we now have a much closer and more special bond. Alison is not just my sister but is also my best friend.

The other part of my life that has changed so much is my fitness and general health. Before my transplant I was severely lacking in energy. I was always tired and all I could do after work was go home and sleep. While I was on peritoneal dialysis I couldnt really do anything active.

Since my transplant this has changed so much, I have done things that I never imagined possible.

Four months after the transplant I decided to take up cycling as a way of getting fit. This motivation came from Alison, as it is what she did to get fit prior to donating her kidney to me. I started with a cycling group from a local triathlon club. After becoming more confident with it I ventured to my local bike shop, Panther cycles, and bought a new bike. I continued my cycling with the triathlon club and received so much encouragement from the other members. I then took up running and did my first 8km fun run in Centennial Park, Sydney with Alison. I did walk half of it but was happy to complete it.

After continued training, by November 2004 I was ready to compete in my first triathlon. This was what is known as an enticer triathlon. A small triathlon designed to get newcomers into the sport. It consisted of a 250 metre swim, 5 kilometre cycle and 2.5 kilometre run. I successfully completed my first triathlon and was ecstatic with a time of 45:31.

Since that triathlon I have competed in about 5 triathlons, the largest being after months of training & spending lots of time at my local YMCA gym. After shedding 16kg and feeling fit enough, in November 2005 I completed the Nepean Triathlon, which has a distance of 1 kilometre swim, 30 kilometre cycle & 10 kilometre run, in a time of 2:29:43. This is something I could never have done if not for Alison. She also competed in the same triathlon; I even beat her by 10 minutes. A friendly rivalry certainly exists between us.

Over the last 4 years I have also improved my running and have competed in several fun runs and can now run 10 kilometres in under 60 minutes.

In early 2006 I found out about the 10^th Australian Transplant Games. I contacted the NSW state branch of Transplant Australia, got the information that I needed to register for the games and registered. In September I flew to Geelong, Victoria to compete in the Games, unsure of what to expect.

The following week turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life. I met so many great people in one week, with so many different stories of what brought them to the games.

I competed in nine events in the week, which included cycling, swimming and running events. By the end of the week I had won four gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals. I had also successfully qualified for the 16^th World Transplant Games in Bangkok, Thailand in 2007.

I am now concentrating on my training for these games and am looking forward to the chance to compete for my country and meet many more people from around the world.

Myself and my partner Rebecca are now also expecting our first child together and are looking forward to this very happy occasion, due to happen in April 2007.

It is amazing how much life can change in 4 short years.

All of these things I would never have dreamed possible nor would they have been possible without the support and encouragement of friends, family and most of all I would not be where I am now without my sister, my hero, my best friend Alison.