She needs another kidney.
This will be Samantha Murdock's second transplant because sometimes donor kidneys don't last the life span of the average human.
Murdock was just 16 when she first experienced kidney failure in 1999. The cause was Pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis, a quickly progressive condition that leads to renal failure.
Murdock still remembers the drive from Fort St. James to the hospital in Prince George that started her on the journey of dialysis three times a week until that fateful night - June 26, 2004 - when she got the call at 11 p.m. to tell her there was a kidney for her in Vancouver.
During the five years between kidney failure and transplant, Murdock's outlook on life changed.
"During that time I was scared to go out because I was so used to the hospital," Murdock, now 34 years old, said.
"I really was going through a lot up to a point where I was about ready to give up. I didn't because I met a guy named Theodore Davis who encouraged me to keep fighting. Like many other patients, I've kept my disease a secret for a very long time. I was embarrassed about my figure, the weight loss and the puffiness on my face from all the medication that I had to be on, let alone all the scars, fistula, grafts and lines in my body. Not Theo, though. He didn't care about the scars or what was in or on my body. He loves me for who I am."
After two months in the hospital after her kidney transplant, Murdock was back to her life and enjoyed good health for years.
Unfortunately, Murdock took ill in September 2011 and was diagnosed with hemicolectomy which resulted in surgery to remove part of her colon. The following year her body began rejecting the transplanted kidney which led to hemo-dialysis three times a week for three hours a session from March 12, 2012 to present day.
Murdock, now a mature woman and mother of two, decided to take control of her dialysis herself and learned to take her own blood pressure and set the needles for dialysis herself.
"It is definitely a challenge but I did it," said Murdock. "I also attend classes at the College of New Caledonia and I am doing my upgrading now that my kids are in school for a full day. I am a busy mom and have no time to be sick."
She credits a lot of her success to Davis, who has been by her side through thick and thin.
Murdock's son Rylan, eight, is non-verbal and was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, which presents a whole new set of challenges for the family. Big sister Kiley is nine.
"Rylan's the one that makes me stronger to fight every day for my children," Murdock said. "If I'm sick I just have to suck it up and push it aside."
Murdock is currently on top of the kidney donor list, so now it's just a waiting game before she gets another kidney to free her from dialysis at this busy time in her life. She maintains a healthy lifestyle, exercising regularly and eating well, doing all the things she's supposed to do.
"I like to think that I'm stronger now than I was before," Murdock said. "I even swore to God I wouldn't go back on dialysis if my kidney failed again but that all changed because of my two beautiful angels that needed their mom. I love being a mother to them. And I have learned to love myself again and I try my best to stay as healthy as possible."
March is Kidney Health Month and to celebrate the Prince George chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, BC Branch, will have an information table in the lobby of UHNBC on World Kidney Day, March 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will also be a door-to-door fundraising campaign throughout the month of March.
World Kidney Day is a global awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys. This year the theme is Kidneys and Women's Health.
