Lucy Humphrey’s dog Indie “picked” the woman who was able to get her the transplant she needed.
Lucy Humphrey probably only had a few years to live when she took a trip to the seaside with her partner and two dogs.
However, thanks to a chance encounter with a strange person “chosen” by one of her pets, her life was saved.
After living with lupus — a disease that causes inflammation of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and joints — for over a decade and a half, her kidneys failed.
Despite dialysis sessions, she was told in 2019 that she could only live five years without a kidney transplant, which is responsible for filtering impurities from the blood.
Earlier, Lucy, 44, and her partner Cenydd Owen, 49, bought a trailer to walk their dogs – two Dobermans named Jake and Indie – on weekends.
But plans for the couple, who live in Caerphilly, Wales, have had to be put on hold because of the treatment.
They had even planned a two day trip to Aberystwyth in June 2021, four and a half years after being diagnosed with kidney failure, but Lucy was too ill to travel that far.
They then decided to go somewhere closer to home: Cold Knap Beach, in the town of Barry.
Lucy and Cenydd parked the trailer in a spot overlooking the beach and set up a barbecue with the dogs.
“But Indie always went to a woman, who was about 100 yards away,” Lucy recalls.
“He kept going back and forth to the woman. And we kept calling her back because obviously a big Doberman can be intimidating,” she says. “We thought she had some food or something. Finally, we went to apologize.”
The “foreigner” was Katie James, 40, who lives in Barry.
She sat on the beach crocheting and ended up not caring that Indie came to her.
“Actually, she was having a bad time, so I invited her to our barbecue,” explains Lucy. “She came, she brought a drink and offered me some.”
“Cenydd explained that I couldn’t drink because I was on dialysis. And she said, ‘But what is it for?’ And she explained that I was waiting for a kidney transplant.
Surprised, Katie said, “I just signed up for the kidney donation registry!”
“But who will you donate your kidney to?” Cenydd asked.
“For anyone who wants it,” Katie replied.
Katie and Lucy exchanged phone numbers and contacted a grant coordinator the next day.
“She did all the tests, and they showed a perfect match,” Lucy continues.
“A surgeon told us there’s a one in 22 million chance I’ll find the perfect match, and that’s what I needed because I have lupus.”
The transplant took some time, as that was the height of the covid-19 pandemic. The procedure was therefore postponed.
While preparing, Katie created a WhatsApp group called The Kidney Band (“A Turma do Rim”, in free translation).
“Every visit to the hospital, he would update us and send us recorded messages or photos,” Cenydd recalls. “I still have all the records of how excited he was to do something good.”
“For the past five years, Lucy could not drink anything and had dietary restrictions. Now she is free to eat and drink whatever she wants and our life is back to normal,” emphasizes the partner.
Despite complications in the first weeks after the transplant, Lucy considers the procedure, performed on 3 October 2022 at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, a success.
“We went together on Sunday and on Monday morning they took one of my kidneys out and put it in Lucy,” Katie says.
“I feel very lucky to have met Lucy. For me, there was nothing negative about it.”
“I feel very proud. Sometimes I’m even embarrassed, because every time I go out with my grandmother, she tells everyone, ‘My granddaughter donated a kidney.'”
“This is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
“Some time ago, I was told I was only five, dialysis wouldn’t work forever…” Lucy points out.
“I really needed this transplant, I’ve been on a waiting list for several years. It has completely changed my life.”
Cenydd describes Katie as a “wonderful and selfless person”.
“But she doesn’t like my jokes and says if I don’t stop telling her, she’s going to ask for her kidney back,” he jokes.
“We bumped into Barry, bumped into Katie, and Lucy ended up getting a kidney.”
“We want to show with this that there is always hope for people. Never give up, because you never know… We weren’t even going to the beach that day. And there are a lot of good people out there.”
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
