Dan

Drama in real life

by Erika Muscat

Dan was in his early 20s when he learned he had kidney disease, but it wasn’t until 2018 when his side started hurting badly, that he went to a walk-in clinic. His blood pressure was double what it should have been, and he was immediately sent to the hospital for further assessment.

Supplied photo

Dan was referred to a nephrologist. He changed his diet drastically and was able to maintain some of his kidney function. Even though Dan was not a big guy to begin with, he lost a lot of weight in the process. After about a year and a half, his kidney function began to decline even more, and he was starting to feel unwell again. He felt weak and didn’t have a lot of energy. It was a challenging time.

As a movie director, Dan was in the midst of filming a major film when his kidney function started to decline. He didn’t want people to know what he was going through. “I didn’t want it [kidney disease] to be a factor in how people treated me,” he said. “I didn’t want to look weak, and I didn’t want to look sick. That was hard.” Yet, Dan did feel very weak and tired. He felt that he wasn’t keeping up with others his age, or even younger. His legs would get swollen and painful. Dan would sometimes feel short of breath, dizzy and have heart palpitations. The challenges weren’t just physical. There was also the mental health side of things. Some days, when he woke up, he didn’t have the confidence that he would make it through the day.

However, under close supervision and with advice from his medical team, Dan continued to push through. As it turned out, none of his co-workers even noticed the things that he feared were so obvious to everyone.

Fortunately, many of his friends had come forward to be potential kidney donors, and one was a great candidate. Dan was able to evade dialysis and in November 2020, he received a kidney through the paired exchange program. A kidney transplant though, comes with its own set of challenges. Dan was able to gain weight, but it took time to strike the right balance.

Dan’s close friends knew what he was going through. He says, “It’s so important to be open with your friends.” Dan also shares how important it is to listen to your body. “Everyone is different, and you need to be patient with your body; understand that there will likely be setbacks along the way.”

Dan found a community of support in The Kidney Foundation’s Peer Support program. He was able to talk to other men his age who had gone through a similar experience. Recently, he participated as a panelist in the Foundation’s Body Image webinar for men. (recording available at www.kidney.ca/webinars).

Post-transplant, Dan is thriving. He feels good and is happy to do what he can to help others navigating this journey, so they do not feel alone. 