It’s one of those summer days when the sparrows fall dead from the roof. Not a breath of wind and a sun that is fixed in the sky. In Achlum the streets are deserted. People are on holiday or are inside because of the heat. But René Bauritius is at home and keeps a cool head. He has had a kidney disease for more than five years and therefore still lives at home with his parents. “Here in this bedroom, I do dialysis every night,” he says. “This is the dialysis machine that makes quite a bit of noise. I sleep because of it, but I often wake up because of it.” Bauritius was a mechanical woodworker in Harlingen. Before that he worked for a number of years at a large hardware store, but his ambition was and is – as a great music lover – to follow a training as a music producer. For this he saved a considerable amount. But unfortunately his illness in 2017 put a big line through his beautiful plans. At the kitchen table, he bravely tells what his life has been like since then.
Hereditary kidney disease
“In December 2016 I ended up in the emergency room because of a high glucose level in my blood. Earlier in April of that year I had already had a drop foot and I had been to the neurologist because my knees were bothering me. I came under the control of the nephrologist because my kidneys were not in order. This was not immediately clear, by the way, during a previous kidney puncture nothing came out. But later in the genetics department at the UMCG it turned out that I have Alport syndrome, a hereditary kidney disease. My grandfather also suffered from kidney disease, but we don’t know if he also had Alport syndrome. At first I just lived on with this diagnosis, but in March this year I had to have surgery. I was fitted with a catheter to drain excess protein and have been on dialysis every night since then.”
Life upside down
The ‘cleaning’ of the kidneys puts a significant strain on the life of the resident of Achlum. “Dialysis is tough. It also affects my other organs and I can’t skip it once. At eight o’clock in the evening I connect the dialysis machine, at four o’clock at night I go to the toilet and disconnect it again. Then I can really sleep peacefully. I would prefer a donor kidney, since 2019 I have been eligible for a kidney transplant. Everyone has two kidneys, but one can live well. A search for a ‘living donor’ in my immediate environment has so far yielded nothing. I think that’s a shame, because with a new kidney I would have more energy. Then the training to become a music producer is available again for me. And when I have completed that training, I can go back to work and I am no longer dependent on benefits.”
Longer waiting list
He thinks it would be fantastic to produce music, release it on a label and perform at festivals. “I already have the necessary equipment for this, but I can’t handle it yet. The training costs a lot of money, I had to hand in my savings for this because of my benefits. I could possibly follow the training online, but if I have a good donor kidney I might be able to go to Hilversum and follow him physically. A new kidney can greatly improve my quality of life. But it’s really, really hard to find a good kidney. The corona pandemic is causing a longer waiting list for kidney transplants. This is because hospitals and doctors have to postpone many transplant operations in favor of caring for Covid patients.”
Conditions for a good living donor kidney
– You have a healthy BMI
– You have no medical problems
– You have good mental health
– You have blood group ‘O’ (possibly)
– You are younger than 65 years, preferably between 40 and 50 years
– You are in good shape
If you have any questions about a kidney donation or would like to register as a donor (anonymous option), you can call 050-3614645 or send an email to: coordinator-nier [email protected]. If you have a question or comment after reading René Bauritius’s story, you can always send an email to: [email protected] or take a look at his website: www.nierzaad-bauritius.nl
Text and image: Amanda de Vries