Ted's transplant story: the unexpected phone call that transformed his life
Kidney patient Ted Dodd had pretty well given up hope of getting the vital transplant he needed.
In the depths of the pandemic it seemed an unlikely prospect, so unlikely that he had unpacked the bag he kept ready in case of that life-saving call.
But Ted was one of the lucky ones. Here's his story.
Ted, 26, from Ely was born with birth defects which meant he had only one kidney and an undiagnosed heart problem.
Despite many operations early on he had a happy and healthy childhood until he was 12 when his health started to deteriorate. It transpired his kidney and heart had failed simultaneously.
Ted became extremely unwell and his parents were given a bleak prognosis.
Medical teams managed his health with a view to undergo a kidney transplant operation once he was eventually strong enough.
In order to reach that goal, he was fitted with a mechanical heart valve which helped stabilise his condition. After a year, he was registered on the transplant waiting list and a couple of months later received his first kidney transplant.
Ted was well with his transplanted kidney; he travelled to various countries, completed a parachute jump and started training for a career in the Ambulance Service.
However, in 2019, after 12 years with the kidney, his health began to deteriorate and he was once again placed on the transplant waiting list.
Ted says “I started getting tired and was falling asleep a lot. It was difficult for me as the first time I became poorly I was a child - this time I was 25 and my adult life was being disrupted.
“I went on the waiting list in the summer of 2019 and later that year had to go onto dialysis which I struggled with. I felt as though my freedom had been taken away from me.
I had to contend with Christmas on dialysis…then Covid hit in the New Year. My partner, Archie and a few family members wanted to donate a kidney to me but Covid slowed the process.
“At dialysis, I’d started to get into a routine and always took someone with me - to play board games or just for the chat. Then due to the Covid rules I had to start going alone. It was horrible. I felt so dejected.
I became massively ‘down in the dumps’.
I unpacked my hospital bag and switched off my phone at night because I was sure I wasn’t getting a call. I remember thinking ‘This is how it is now’.
“Then, one evening at dialysis, completely out of the blue, my phone rang. It was the transplant team. I panicked - I wasn’t ready physically or mentally, and I’d unpacked my bag!
“After overcoming some logistical challenges, including how to safely get to hospital in a pandemic, the transplant was ready to go ahead.
“It was completely surreal. The hospital was so quiet, the corridors were like a ghost town and all the staff were in top-to-toe PPE.
The staff were truly amazing. They made me feel safe and I was home after just a week in hospital.
“In the end I became nervous of the outside world having been made to feel so secure in the hospital. My mum and I spent weeks just focusing on my recovery while my dad, who works away, stayed away.
“I gradually started seeing more people and getting out. A couple of months after the op I walked 8 miles with my best friend. Before my transplant I struggled to climb the stairs at home without stopping for a breath. That was the immediate difference it made to my life.
“I feel the best I ever have. I had the trip of a lifetime driving around Scotland, have moved into my new home and am now back working on emergency ambulances.
“And it’s all because of my donor and their family. Because of a decision they made, in their worst time, I’m sat here, well, today. My life is no longer ruled by dialysis.
“I appreciate the small things. I really stop to notice them. I know it sounds corny but it’s true. Every single day I think about my donor and their family. Every time I get up in the morning, whatever I am doing, I am able to do it because of them.
“Organ Donation really is the most amazing gift. It has given me my life back… again.”