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Anything is possible for kidney donor recipient

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

A NORTHSIDE man is hoping to share his message of hope after undergoing a serious transplant operation, which gave him a new lease of life. Ken Kirwan, from Santry, was born with a kidney condition called Polycystic kidneys, which got progressively worse throughout his life. In 2007 his condition became so bad that he was forced to spend most of the year in Beaumont Hospital where he was fortunate enough to receive a donor kidney in December of that year. Now, with three functioning kidneys inside him, Mr Kirwan hopes to share his inspiring and positive message with other people suffering similar situations across Dublin. The 34-year-old told Northside People how he wrote a song called ‘Anything is Possible’ while recuperating from his operation and hopes to release it as a charity download to raise funds for the Irish Kidney Association. He is also hoping to perform the song at the World Transplant Games, which come to Ireland in August. Mr Kirwan said that in 2007 he was very lucky to receive a kidney from an anonymous donor and said he would be forever indebted to the person for giving him a “new lease of life”. “When I got out, I wanted to give something back to the people and the organisation that looked after me,” he stated. “I wrote the song ‘Anything is Possible’ while I was recovering and had the idea to release it on charity download to raise funds. “It indirectly tells the story of my journey and how undergoing dialysis treatment doesn’t have to be the end of the world and that you should always look to the future with positive thoughts. “It encourages people to realise the good things they have in their life rather than the negatives and to always follow your dreams and to not take the small things for granted in your life.” Mr Kirwan said he has been through it all and has come out the other side to make a success of his life. He currently runs a successful new wedding and event business and wants to share his positive message to all the people that are going through situations like his. “I am back going to the gym three times a week; I am up every morning at 6.30am,” he said. “The new kidney is working great. The only sign that it is even there is a small scar. “I have three kidneys now because they never took the other one out – they just put the new one in the front. “I live a happy and healthy life now. I have always watched what I eat. I am very active just like before.” Mr Kirwan said it was important for people to keep a positive outlook to help get them through situations like his. “When I was on dialysis I had to keep pushing forward,” he added. “If you don’t stay positive, it can be very hard. I was still going to the gym and keeping myself busy the whole time to get through it. “For a lot of people it’s something they will never think about until it happens to them. There can be hard times, but you have to keep a positive outlook.” Mr Kirwan is currently working on making the song available for download and hopes to release the track for purchase in the coming months.