Before he received a kidney transplant last January, Ian Chislett relied on the Terang and Mortlake Health Service dialysis unit to keep him alive for nine months.
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Mr Chislett is the Warrnambool & District Historical Vehicle Club’s president, and this year the 400-member club decided to donate funds raised at its Lake Pertobe Car Show to the unit.
Ian and Karen Chislett, who live in Naringal, said during the treatment period they became close to nurses Helene McCann and Lisa Lehmann.
“They become family,” Mrs Chislett said.
“They’re here three days a week for four to five hours a day and these nurses keep them alive.”
Half of the $2700 collected by the club was donated to the Terang dialysis unit and the other half paid for a chemotherapy chair at Warrnambool Base Hospital.
Mrs Chislett generously donated her kidney to her husband last year and Mr Chislett said that although he still gets tired, he is feeling better.
“All is going well as long as I keep my medication up,” he said.
“Two years ago my kidneys weren’t working and the only thing that kept me alive was that machine.”
The funds will help to set up a new unit custom-designed for dialysis services that provides more comfort and privacy for patients.
“You can obviously see this money is going to make a huge difference for dialysis here,” Terang and Mortlake Health Service CEO Julia Ogdin said.
“The state of the unit is currently very dated it does need an upgrade.”
The couple have turned their focus to raising awareness about kidney disease.
Mr Chislett said he had no idea his kidneys weren’t functioning until he was acutely ill.
“I was feeling tired, but I drove interstate trucks for years so I just put that down to starting to get worn out,” he said.
“But in actual fact it was the kidneys failing but I didn’t take any notice.”
Kidney Health Australia estimates that one in ten people aged over 18 have indicators of chronic kidney disease, yet less than 10 per cent of people are aware that they have it.
People with risk factors for chronic kidney disease such as high blood pressure or heart problems are encouraged to undergo simple tests every two years.