to promote organ and tissue donation.

Around 1500 people are on Australian organ transplant waiting lists at any one time.

This is Marie and Steven’s story:

Marie and her husband Steven moved to Dorrigo, 23 years ago, where they raised four children and were actively involved in the community.

All this changed in 1996 when Steven contracted Q fever endocarditis, possibly from a tick, and became unwell.

He recovered from

endocarditis

, an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, but was consequently diagnosed with

IGA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease that affects the kidneys.

Steven’s kidneys deteriorated, and with that, his kidney function.

In 2011 he began renal dialysis.

Marie and Steven then made the difficult decision to move away, from their beloved community, to the coast and be close to the hospital.

For Marie this would prove to be a double blow, as she now had to commute to her job in Dorrigo.

“The work was vital, as the medical bills rolled in, the imperative to remain in the ‘black’ became increasingly more difficult. It is a hard road financially,” Marie said.

Steven needed a kidney transplant, and, as his blood type is common, so too his wait on the transplant list.

In September 2011, desperate to help, Marie began testing to see if she could be donor.

In an extraordinary twist of bad luck, Marie was found to have a lesion on one of her kidneys, and this would stall the process for two years.

By this stage, Steven was losing muscle mass and his ability to walk.

His dependence on peritoneal dialysis, meant Marie had to stop working full time and lose both her career and the desperately needed time-out.

The clearance to finally proceed with the kidney transplant was given and now Marie had to prepare for surgery.

This again proved more complicated than expected.

“I had to lose weight and get fit for the operation and sorting out my own health issues. I have had three sisters who have had breast cancer and had to go through genetic testing,” Marie said.

The transplant eventually went ahead, on September 18.

“It has been a slow, but upward, recovery for both of us, it’s never a cure but a treatment,” Marie said.

She is now hoping to focus on the better times to come.

“We are hoping it will be positive from now on. I have Shelley's boot-camp in Urunga to thank for keeping me afloat, for all their support and many friends on our journey,” Marie said.

“I paint rocks to relieve stress and the exercise was a lifesaver. No one really understands what it’s like living with someone with a chronic illness in need of a transplant.

“We are just looking forward to a positive future, although, I have just lost a day's work and Steven is trying to get back into the workforce. But we will get there.” 

* For more information on organ donation: www.donatelife.gov.au.