CARIEVALE — Mike Wolf is the principal of Carievale School. His wife, Michelle is the vice-principal of the Carnduff Education Complex. They are the parents of Taddeus, who graduated this past June.
Two years ago, Mike was feeling under the weather and decided to see a doctor at the Galloway Health Centre. He has been suffering from diabetes for about 15 years and, although that has not been a cause for great concern, he is concerned enough that when he’s not feeling well, he has it checked out.
A series of blood tests revealed some potential life-changing news. Neither of his kidneys were functioning properly…only about 20 per cent of capacity.
Although this was concerning, it was not yet at a critical stage. He and his wife met with a team of experts that included a doctor, nurses, a pharmacist and dietician, as well as a social worker. They all agreed that, for the time being, Mike’s kidney functions would be monitored on a regular basis.
The functional capacity continued to drop. Mike and Michelle received education about what was involved with dialysis, but his kidneys had not yet reached the stage where dialysis was required.
And they still haven’t. However, Mike’s kidneys continue to worsen and he has now been advised to consider a kidney transplant. If that doesn’t happen soon, dialysis will be required.
Mike’s overall health — diabetes aside — makes him a good candidate for a transplant. The search has begun for a “living donor”.
A “living donor” differs from a “deceased donor” – one is living…one isn’t. But another major difference is that the kidney of a deceased donor goes to a person who has the greatest need, whereas the kidney of a living donor goes directly to the person to whom it’s being donated. In other words, the kidney of a living donor for Mike goes directly to him.
It was suggested to Mike and Michelle to begin a search for a donor in June, but they put it off for a few weeks to enable their son to have his day on his graduation without the news of his father’s condition taking anything away. Following his graduation, despite Mike’s misgivings, a plea went out via Facebook and several have expressed interest. Mike feels somewhat uncomfortable about all this, as he considers this to be a very big ask.
To date, however, no living donor has met all the requirements. The search goes on.
If a donor cannot be found, then dialysis will have to begin. His kidneys have reached that stage. Although the dialysis process has improved greatly over the years, it is still something that greatly affects one’s quality of life.
Mike, for the most part, feels good on the outside. So good, in fact, that he plans to return to work when school starts up in September. But unfortunately, the tests remind him that things are not so good on the inside.
His situation continues to be monitored closely. Monthly, he has bloodwork done and every three months, he is tested to ensure that he is still healthy enough to receive a transplant.
The window for a transplant will not be open forever.
If you are interested in being a living donor, the first step is to contact Saskatchewan’s Living Donor program. That can be done by calling 306-766-6477 or faxing 306-766-4047. You can also send an email to [email protected]. Unfortunately, those already diagnosed with diabetes are ineligible to donate.
