New Delhi: 37-year-old Shibani Gulati is sweating it out to prepare for the 42km Amsterdam Marathon. The event scheduled for October 2018 may be a year away, but Shibani is not being complacent, she knows that though she has participated marathon’s before, with this one she will be pushing the bar higher. Be it running for 3km or testing her grit with a half marathon of 21km in Mumbai, Shibani has attempted it all. What sets her apart is that she is the only women who has run 21km after a kidney transplant.

Shibani was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2004. For almost 5 years, she took precautions and kept a check on her diet, and medicines. She continued to lead a normal and healthy life, but in 2010, the complications multiplied, and she was immediately put on dialysis. She was just 30-year-old, and a sudden kidney disease came as a shock to her and her family. A disrupted normal life was just the beginning of her battle.

Everything happened suddenly. I was immediately put on dialysis. Doctor told us that I need to undergo a kidney transplant, but we didn’t know what to do and how to do. My dad didn’t even know his blood group. My mother is a diabetic therefore she couldn’t donate her kidney to me, says Shibani.

Shibani’s quest for a kidney donor ended with her younger brother. Initially, she was reluctant in taking her 26-year-old brother’s kidney. She was worried about his future and his life, but her brother explained the concept of living donor to her and convinced her for the transplant. Their close friends and relatives also suggested and advised them to think over the decision of his brother donating his kidney, but by then the family had made up its mind.

Finding a donor might not have been a long wait for Shibani, as it is for lakhs of others in India. But what followed next was long drawn, tedious, and enough to shake the determination of any person. Her brother, being a living donor had to undergo a lot of tests to ensure that he is fit to donate. He was interviewed to check his mental stability and is donating a kidney legally. It took almost a month to complete a the entire process.

Luckily, our match was a very good match, but, honestly, the process was long and tiresome. From my dialysis to kidney transplant, it took me almost a month. There are a lot of things you need to fulfill. I was on the dialysis and my brother had to go through all of that and meet all the criteria, says Shibani.

The transplant was successful. Shibani’s brother was on a bed rest for two days and then he was back to normal, while Shibani was in the hospital under doctor’s supervision for 15 days. After that she was on a rest for 2 months.

After my transplant I was in the house for a very long time. When I started going out for a walk or something, I used to wear a mask. With that mask, people wouldn’t sit next to me. They used to maintain a distance like I was carrying an infection. It is not easy to survive with a mask. People will judge you. People were sacred of me, but I felt like shouting, I am scared of you guys.

It took Shibani almost a year to settle down and have a normal life. For 2-3 years she was asked to have only home-cooked food, boiled water and maintain basic hygiene. With all the precautions and help from the doctor, Shibani participated in a small run of 3km in December 2012.

I started with 3km marathon then I raised my bar to 10 km and then to 21km in 2014. Now, I run, do yoga, gymming, and lead a normal life. Everyone can do such things after their kidney transplant. One just needs to be sure of their water intake. I go for regular checkups and keep my doctor in loop, always, says Shibani.

Looking back at the difficult phase, Shibani feels that the biggest fear was the unknown, the lack of awareness about organ donation and transplant. This is one of the key reasons for the shortage of organ donation in India. People don’t know about the process and what organ donation entails and so are not keen to be an organ donor.

After my organ transplant, my family members have registered to be organ donors and have donor cards. Many people in my family and friends are coming forward. I am not saying that people should have such experiences in their life to realise the importance of organ donation, but proper awareness will do the needful, signs off Shibani.

Also Read: ‘Dispel Myths, Superstitions About Organ Donation’