‘I feel like a whole new person’ – transplant recipient

James Meyer is this month’s 1000th patient at Westmead Hospital’s renal walk-in clinic, an all-time record for the service.

James visited the walk-in clinic on Friday for a general check-up following his kidney-pancreas transplant which has cured his type 1 diabetes and kidney failure.

Westmead Hospital’s renal walk-in is available to patients of the Western Renal Service who have chronic kidney disease, have received a transplant or are on dialysis. Patients who require help from a renal nurse or doctor simply need to turn up to the clinic for medical assistance.

James said he will be forever grateful for his transplant.

“I am no longer diabetic and I feel like a whole new person,” James said.

“I used to have no energy, I could sleep all day and still be really tired.

“Now I’m up at 6.30am every morning and ready to go.”

James said he looks forward to spending more time with his kids.

“I haven’t worked in 12 months. I can’t wait to get straight back into it,” James said.

“I haven’t been able to watch my kids play sports but now I can. I can go to the park and kick a football with my son.”

Professor Jeremy Chapman congratulated the team on supporting a record 1000 patients this month.

“We need to reduce the barrier to our patients seeking medical care, this clinic reduces the barrier to zero, because all you have to do is walk in,” Prof Chapman said.

“It saves us time, money, avoids emergency department presentations and allows patients to be treated early in the course of any problem they have.

“People ask me how we afford to have such ease of access? My answer is that we cannot afford not to – treating people early and quickly has reduced our admissions by half.  That said, 1000 people this month is a pretty solid effort by the team.”

The 1000th patient milestone comes as Professor Chapman and his team delivered insights into the future of renal care as part of Hospital Week. The renal symposium covered research into improved dialysis techniques, prevention of kidney disease and global outreach programs to stop the organ trade.