Russ Thompson served as a municipal politician for 13 years. He teaches grades 4, 5 and 6 at Northeastern Elementary School.
He was a volunteer firefighter for years. He's the proud father of two stepdaughters in their 20s through his former wife.
Thompson has lived a full life and given back to his community to the best of his ability. But that's all thanks to a precious gift he received back in 1994, when he was in his 20s — a kidney.
“It's a second chance at life, to get things back to normal, to lead a life just like anybody else would, and to be healthy,” Thompson said.
“That's the main key, to have your health back. I don't think you realize how precious your health is until you don't have it or it's compromised. To get that kidney is the greatest gift you could ever receive.”
Thompson recently penned a self-published book called “Recycle Yourself” about his struggles with renal failure and his life after his transplant.
He was diagnosed with renal failure in 1991. His doctors say his kidney failed because of a condition called glomerulonephritis.
“It could have been something as simple as the flu or a cold, and my immune system went into overdrive and attacked the filters in my kidneys,” he said.
Thompson was on dialysis for three years, a procedure that cleansed his blood and kept him alive, but at the same time, left him exhausted. He had to go to the hospital three times a week for three hours at a time for the procedure.
“I was fortunate enough to end up going to teacher's college at Nipissing,” he said.
“That was while I was on dialysis, which was tough because I was driving back and forth all the time … I don't know how I did it, but I guess those things you need to do, somehow you end up doing.”
Thompson said he had just gotten back home from dialysis one day when his dad told him to call the hospital, as a kidney was available.
It was a “scary and exciting” moment, he said.
He was flown by air ambulance to London, Ont., where the transplant operation was done.
“I remember waking up and being hooked to all these machines, and all these tubes and wires coming out from me,” Thompson said.
It was a scary time, as he didn't know whether or not his body would reject the kidney. That's something that's still true.
“There's always that factor,” said Thompson, who's had to take anti-rejection medications since his kidney transplant, and whose immune system is compromised due to the drugs.
“Is it going to stop working? Even today it could stop working at any time. You never know. That's always at the back of your mind.”
Thompson said he decided to tell his story to encourage others to sign up online as organ donors. He also encourages people to speak to family members about their wishes, as they have the ultimate say on organ donation.
“If people signed up and people discussed this with their family, the waiting list would be a lot shorter,” he said. “We would be saving lives.”
Thompson's book, which costs $15, is available for purchase at Coles in the New Sudbury Centre.
