"It changed my life completely."

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Published on Thursday, November 20, 2014

(L to R) Karla Hall and Darryl Kulbacki

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

Neepawa Banner

Neepawa-area siblings Darryl Kulbacki and Karla Hall are bound by more than just blood. On Oct. 23, Hall went into surgery at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg to donate a kidney to her older brother. 

Ongoing kidney failure has been a part of Kulbacki’s life for the last decade.  With just seven to 10 per cent kidney function, he had low appetite, swelling in his legs but mostly, he was very tired. He said that he would spend between 12 and 13 hours a day sleeping. “Even when I was up, it felt like I had already worked an 18 hour shift,” he said. Being on the family farm, he was able to break his day up, taking a few naps in between work. “I still put in all my hours,” he said.

Despite his low kidney function, Kulbacki was able to avoid going on dialysis. “I was fortunate… the doctor thought I would be on dialysis a year ago,” he said. He explained that this was possible through a very restrictive diet which required him to avoid food with high potassium.

“I said I was going 

to do it”

When it became clear that Kulbacki needed a kidney transplant, Hall was one of the family members who stepped forward to see if they would be a good match. “Mom had told me that he would need a transplant and I said I was going to do it,” said Hall. Not only was Hall’s kidney the best match, both Hall and Kulbacki have the rare AB blood type, but because of her younger age, she was also the doctors’ preferred candidate. Kulbacki said that an average living donor transplant kidney will last 15 to 20 years, with some lasting up to 35 years. Because of her age and advances in anti-rejection medication, Hall said, “They, the doctors, told me that my kidney could possibly be the only one he ever needs.”

Family members often aren’t a match and while they were fortunate, Kulbacki said that with all of today’s medication, doctors don’t need a perfectly matched kidney for transplant. Hall also explained that there is Canada-wide kidney cross-matching, which allows friends or family members who aren’t a match to donate to a stranger and have their loved one receive a kidney from a stranger. Without a donor stepping forward, Kulbacki would likely have had to wait five years.

For Hall, the pre-transplant testing began in January. “There’s lots of testing, they have to make sure you’re 100 per cent healthy,” she said.  The time between January and the surgery was due to the rigorous testing required before the surgery could take place. Hall was put through a battery of tests: an MRI, ultrasounds, TB testing, tests for kidney stones and many blood tests. “They don’t want to put two lives at risk,” said Hall. 

Kulbacki  said that through testing, they also found out that he would be getting a great kidney. “At the start, they were calling them super kidneys because they were doing so well,” he said.

Despite clear tests, a week before surgery, the family had a few anxious days and the surgery was almost put on hold. One of Hall’s tests showed what might be a kidney stone, which would mean cancelling the transplant. “They redid the test, in the first test for whatever reason, something went wrong,” said Kulbacki. Hall was given a clean bill of health and the surgery continued as planned.

Under the knife

Transplants are done once a week and in early September, the family was told that they could get in on Sept. 15.  However, with harvest for Kulbacki and Hall’s job as a teacher, they decided to wait for a date a little later in the fall. The next available date was in late October.

On Oct. 23, Hall went into the three hour surgery to remove one of her kidneys.  The operating room was then cleaned and Kulbacki was brought in to receive the kidney transplant.  His surgery took one and a half hours and his new kidney sits just under his stomach, at the front of his body. “The minute they hooked the kidney up to my blood, it started working,” said Kulbacki, adding, “They had to hurry up and hook up to the bladder.”

“I was always told the minute I wake up [after the transplant], I’ll know if it worked. I felt a hundred times better, a million times better, the minute I woke up…When I was wheeled into the ward, mom, dad and my brother said that all my colour was back,” said Kulbacki. About a half hour after his surgery, Kulbacki was already up and by that evening, they had him standing. “They want you walking,” he explained, to help build strength and ward off sickness such as pneumonia.

The surgery left both Hall and Kulbacki, with small scars.  “Within the year you probably won’t be able to see it,” said Kulbacki.

The pair praised the surgeons and staff. “After I was leaving the recovery room, they stopped and let me say ‘hi’ to him and the surgeon came and told me how well surgery went. It was really nice,” said Hall. They were also able to share a hospital room.

Life after transplant

After the surgery on Thursday, Kulbacki was discharged on Monday, earlier than the seven to 10 days he had initially been told. For the week following his discharge, he took daily blood tests at HSC. Hall, who had a reaction to some of the medication was discharged on Sunday.  

For the four months following the surgery, both Hall and Kulbacki can’t lift more than five pounds.  “I feel 10 years younger, other than I can’t do anything right now. I want to do something, but I can’t,” said Kulbacki.

Kulbacki must also wear a mask when out if public for the next few months to protect him from a cold or other infection.

For Hall, the surgery results in no long-term restrictions, “I can live a normal life,” she said. She added, “They say a lot of people only have one kidney and don’t know.”

For Kulbacki, there are still some restrictions, the biggest of which is the anti-rejection drugs he must take every 12 hours for as long as he has the kidney. “If I miss one dosage, they say it will kill part of that new kidney,” he said. For the time being, Kulbacki still has an apartment in Winnipeg rented since he must still go back twice a week for 8 a.m. blood tests to make sure the dosage of the anti-rejection drug is correct and that everything is still working as it should. After the tests, he meets for a follow up with a nurse or doctor.  He said that they can adjust the dosage daily if need be.

Kulbacki also has to be careful to protect his new kidney.  “It’s going to change the way I do things, working with cattle, I have to be very careful,” he said. He added that even bumping his stomach on machinery could be disastrous. 

While life with his new kidney has resulted in some changes and limitations for Kulbacki, it has also freed him. It has meant that he no longer has to take the 13 different kinds of medication he was taking daily pre-transplant. “It [the transplant] changed my life completely… To have the freedom to do what ever I want, I really appreciate it,” he said.  He added, “I’m very fortunate.”

Nov 20: correction