In 2007, volunteer firefighter, family man, and active community and charity volunteer, and athlete Craig Dunbar was diagnosed with acute kidney failure due to having taken over the counter anti- inflammatory medication, and following package directions. At the time, Craig was fit and extremely active in sports, the volunteer fire department, and the community. The kidney failure opened Craigs eyes to how serious and widespread kidney disease is, and he has since focused his efforts on helping to spread the word about kidney disease and organ donation, and raising funds for important life saving research. IN 2012, Craig left his career in facilities management to work full time for The Kidney Foundation of Canada. In 2009, Craig had a deceased donor transplant. Unfortunately, due to the high demand and short supply for donor organs, the transplant team used a kidney that was risky, without informing him. The kidney did not work, and in fact went septic, causing Craig to become very ill, ad the kidney had to be removed. This has left Craig with a 98% antibody level, and extremely hard to match. Since that time, dozens of people have been tested for living donation, but a match has yet to be found. In 2012, Craig was told that the vein access he uses for dialysis, the treatment he undergoes 6 nights a week with a machine filtering his blood, was failing, and would not last a year. There are only a few points on the body which can be used for dialysis, due to the size of the blood vessel needed to connect for these treatments. Due to scarring in both his veins and skin, Craigs options are quickly running out. Once these access options run out, Craig will not live much more than a week without treatments. Due to the urgent need for a living donor kidney, Craigs family and friends began a social media campaign to help Craig find a living donor. The campaign is still spreading and many people have been tested, but no matches have been found. Despite the seriousness of Craigs situation and his declining health, Craig remains positive, and has used this campaign as a way to help others, and to advocate for organ donation in general. Craig continues to be involved with the fire department, in a public education role, and frequently volunteers at or organises organ donor awareness events, and continues to help others and to advocate for organ donation. Craig is just one of the 1500 people in Ontario waiting for a life saving organ transplant, and one of 10% of the Canadian population affected by kidney disease or kidney failure. YOU CAN HELP! Please help spread the word, or consider becoming a living kidney donor yourself. Please feel free to join our group at facebook/groups/kidney4craig, or follow Craig on Twitter @kidney4craig.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 15:10:07 +0000
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