'My life is in someone else's hands': Edmontonian looking online for kidney donor
An Edmonton woman is making a desperate plea to the public to help save her life.
Laurie Clement started noticing kidney failure symptoms around Christmas of 2010, and by July of 2011 was started on dialysis treatment in Edmonton.
After about nine months, Clement found a match: Her sister donated a kidney in July of 2013.
“Two days after transplant, the disease came back and attacked it,” she explained.
“Now I’m back at square one.”
Clement is back on dialysis with a kidney function of about seven per cent and spends six days a week at the University of Alberta Hospital.
High doses of prednisone, an anti-rejection drug, has led to other health complications. Clement now has holes in her retinas and is considered legally blind.
“I need a kidney and hopefully soon,” she said. “I want to get back to living life.”
'IT'S OUT OF MY CONTROL'
In an attempt to get the word out, Clement posted her donor plea on Facebook.
“Anything to get the word out,” she said.
Within hours of posting, Clement had received dozens of messages from people sharing their story, sending support and others asking how to help.
“It was just boom, boom, boom, constant, within just a couple minutes of it being approved,” she said.
Clement was taken aback by the community response, recalling how emotional she felt in the moment and even “hopeful" she could one day find a donor.
“It’s out of my control, my life is in someone else’s hands.”
'HOPEFULLY WE'LL FIND A MATCH'
Since the diagnosis, Clement shared that she still has so much to live for and really tries to “embrace life” now as much as possible.
“When this first happened I didn’t think I would be a grandparent,” she explained, taking a long pause to hold back the tears.
“Now I have a five-year-old grandson and I want more of that.”
The massive impact this journey has had on the family weighs heavily on Clement’s mind. She said her kidney disease is “all consuming,” and feels immense guilt about the pressure it’s put on her loved ones.
“There’s actually more bad days than good days,” Steve Clement, her husband explained. “So sometimes she’s in bed almost all day and somebody has to pick up the slack.”
“And do everything,” she added.
“It's part of my vows for better or worse, ‘I love you,’” he said, as he turned to look at her.
“I’ll do whatever I can to do it and hopefully we’ll find a match for you.”
According to Clement, 16 strangers have offered to get tested to see if they’re a match.
“I can take any blood type as long as I have someone who can donate,” she explained.
“It’s not just signing the donor card, it's donating while people are alive.”
For more information on Clement's Facebook post, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
NEW 'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
Miller scores late as Canucks grind out 3-2 win over Oilers in Game 5
J.T. Miller scored in the final minute of the game and the Vancouver Canucks came back for a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
122 active wildfires burning across Canada, 32 considered 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.