Kilkenny GAA star is on waiting list for life-changing kidney transplant – ‘To them you're not this sick person with this disease, you are just daddy'
Hurling was more than just a sport to Derek, it was his identity.
That was until a routine work screening in 2018 discovered high levels of protein in his urine. This chance discovery marked the beginning of a long and difficult journey for Derek, a journey that he is still on to this day.
At first, there was little cause for concern. Although he was referred to a nephrologist for annual check-ups, Derek's life continued on as normal.
That was until 2023 when all sense of normality was shattered and came crashing down around him.
A general check-up with his GP and follow up blood tests revealed a sharp decline in Derek's kidney function. Derek soon underwent a kidney biopsy which diagnosed Derek (37) with a chronic kidney disease called IgA Nephropathy, also known as Berger disease.
IgA Nephropathy can occur when deposits of immunoglobin, a protein that fights bacteria in the body, builds up in the kidneys causing inflammation that can make it harder for the kidneys to filter waste from the blood.
Within just a couple of months, Derek reached end-stage kidney disease.
"To get that diagnosis was soul destroying,' Derek told The Irish Independent. 'I remember just bursting into tears. I had actually gone to the appointment by myself. I remember leaving the appointment and having to make that phone call to tell my wife, Anita, the news and I just burst into tears on the phone.
"In that moment, you can't see any positivity. I was so sick. I had no energy, I couldn't eat and I was just exhausted all the time.'
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From playing hurling several nights a week and winning numerous county championships along with a few All-Irelands, Derek's life was flipped completely upside down as he had a fistula inserted into his arm to begin dialysis treatment in May of 2024.
Three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Derek is up before the sun has even risen to catch a 50-minute HSE taxi ride to University Hospital Waterford for his 7.30am dialysis treatment.
The dialysis treatment takes its toll on Derek's body, leaving him completely exhausted after the four hour treatment finally comes to an end. Despite this, Derek remains positive, describing it as only a 'small little blip' in his journey.
"Four hours might sound long, but I try to remain positive and not let it consume my life,' said Derek. 'If you think about it, it's only four hours three days a week. All the other hours in the week I get to spend it either with my family or my friends or with sport so it's only a small little blip on the journey.'
Despite being on dialysis treatment three days a week, Derek still finds time and energy for his work as a calibration engineer.
"Tiredness is a constant, but it's part of the routine so I still try to keep busy. Being busy is like my coping mechanism. I work on my laptop while I'm in the hospital having dialysis. It helps pass the time and keep a sense of normality for me. My employer is very understanding.'
Derek is also kept busy outside of work. Although the kidney disease forced Derek to give up playing hurling, he refused to give up his love for the sport.
Now involved in coaching hurling, Derek is part of the management team for his local club, Threecastles, who won the county title and then went one better with a Leinster Championship under Derek's guidance. He also manages to find time in his hectic schedule to coach the Blacks & Whites intermediate hurling team in Skeoughvosteen.
Although originally from Threecastles, Derek now lives in Graiguenamanagh in Co Kilkenny with his wife, Anita, and their two daughters, Méabh, who is 20-months-old and baby Róisín, who is just five-months-old.
For Derek, Anita and their two girls have been his rock throughout this journey.
'My wife and the two girls mean the absolute world to me. They give me the strength to keep going.
"It can be a handful with a 20-month-old and a five-month-old in the house but they make me feel normal. To them you are just daddy, you're not this sick person with this disease, you are just daddy.
"I keep using this word 'normal', but looking after my two girls does make me feel normal and healthy again because I'm doing something that a normal healthy person does.'
Derek doesn't hide the fact that his dialysis journey took a toll on his mental health. 'I was struggling,' he said. 'I needed help and I got it.
"Taking part in the Peer Support Programme run by the Irish Kidney Association gave me a connection to others who also faced a similar health journey to me.'
Derek is now an ambassador for the Irish Kidney Association's Peer Support Programme as he wants to encourage others to talk about and mind their mental health, just as much as their physical health.
He added that men in particular must look after themselves and go to the doctor if they have any concerns as men can typically shy away from talking about their physical and mental health as a result of the stigmas attached.
Dialysis has had a massive impact on Derek's life and the lives of his two daughters and his wife. But having an end goal of getting a new kidney, means Derek can view the dialysis as a means to an end.
'I had to learn to accept that I was sick, but having the end goal of getting a kidney transplant means there is a light at the end of the tunnel for me.
"Getting a transplant would mean coming off dialysis and getting back some sense of a normal life.
"I have been on a waiting list for a kidney transplant for nearly a year at this stage. I've been told that for my blood group, there is an average waiting list of about two years for a kidney transplant.
'Whenever I do get that call that they have a kidney for me, I need to be ready to go straight away to Beaumont Hospital. I already have a bag packed by the front door in case I get that call.'
To mark Organ Donor Awareness Week, Derek is sharing his story to help others understand what kidney failure means and the impact it has on the lives of those who are sick and also on their loved ones.
Derek hopes that if someone hears his story, it might inspire them to have that all-important conversation about organ donation.
"The amount of people on a waiting list for a kidney transplant in this country is frightening,' said Derek.
'For the likes of myself and the hundreds of people who go into dialysis each day across the country, we are waiting for that life-changing kidney that will basically continue our lives.
"It is so important to have a conversation with your family, friends or loved ones about organ donation and your wishes to be a donor if the worst was to happen. That one conversation could change everything for families like mine.
"As an organ donor, you are saving lives.'
Next month, a major change in the law surrounding organ donation will come into effect. From June 17, when a person dies, it will automatically be assumed they wish to donate their organs, unless they have indicated an objection during their lifetime.
The soft opt-out is expected to increase the donor pool of organs for over 600 people on the transplant list.
"This law change is a massive positive step forward,' said Derek. 'I know myself, before I got sick, organ donation would never have crossed my mind.
"Because I never thought about organ donation, if the worst did happen, I would have two kidneys that I couldn't give to someone.
"Now if I wasn't sick, it is reassuring to know I would automatically be on the organ donor list and if the worst was to happen to me, I would still be saving and changing lives for the better.
"I would also say, to still have a conversation with your loved ones about organ donation,' he added. 'Because unfortunately, if anything did happen to you, it is again down to your next-of-kin as well.'
For now, Derek must continue his four hours of dialysis, three days a week. But with a bag already packed and waiting by the front door, Derek knows that a new life, without the all-consuming presence of dialysis, is just around the corner.
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