Fundraiser in aid of Kidney Association on Saturday night

A Navan man who saw his father's life utterly transformed by a kidney transplant is holding a fund raiser for the Irish Kidney Association this weekend.

Stephen Lyness is hosting a gig with Skyfever and Twister in the Stonehouse, Navan, on Saturday night to raise funds for the charity.

Stephen's father, Jerome is enjoying a whole new lease of life following a kidney transplant in April last year. 

"Last year my father had a kidney transplant and we are trying to give something back to the association," he says.

Skyfever is a new upcoming original band based in Navan and Dublin, while Twister is a Navan based cover band.

"We have a raffle on the night as well. We have 1987/88 replica Meath jersey signed by Meath legend, Martin O'Connell."

The show starts at 8.30pm and entry is €5 on the door.

Jerome, is now  full of life and vitality as a result of a kidney transplant from a deceased donor in April 2018.

"I feel like I am 16 years old again. I can now enjoy spending time with my lively granddaughters Hannah Rose and Sienna. I pray for my donor and will always be grateful to this person that I don’t know but has saved my life," he recently told The Meath Chronicle.

A father of two adult sons with two grandchildren, Jerome was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2014, which progressed to kidney failure a year later. He started haemodialysis in September 2015 at Cavan General Hospital which involved him travelling there three times a week for four hourly dialysis treatments and this continued for 10 months until he started a form of home dialysis which involved him undergoing his treatment at home through the night every night of the week.

One night in April last year while he was hooked up to his dialysis machine at home he received a call from a donor coordinator that a donor kidney had become available and to make his way up to Beaumont Hospital for his transplant. The transplant was a success and he was discharged from hospital six days later. 

“I can't be thankful enough to my donor whom I think of every day. I have more energy now and can go out and enjoy walking and fishing with Navan Angling Club," says Jerome. 

"I encourage other people to think about organ donation. My wife Deirdre and family, including my nieces and nephews, all carry donor cards now having seen how my donor has transformed me. I embrace everyday now. I still find it hard to believe that when my kidneys failed some stranger’s family stepped in to save my life. Now its easy to forget the bad days I had but I don’t ever forget my donor. I sent a mass card to the deceased donor family which was passed on anonymously through the organ donor coordinator.

“I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful care I received from nursing, medical and transplant staff at Beaumont Hospital for their wonderful care including my consultant Dr Mark Denton, and Dr Mohan and dialysis nurses Annette and Nora. I’d also like to thank my wife Deirdre and sons Stephen and Tony for the caring support the gave me since I was first diagnosed with kidney failure.”