By Claudine Senekal
Chanele Loots is taking full advantage of her second chance at life after she received a kidney from her father as they were a 98% match.
Loots is a diabetic and was diagnosed with kidney failure after doctors realised that her left kidney was not working efficiently. “The doctors named us (Dad and I) the miracle match,” smiled Loots, who told The Ladysmith Herald that a few hours after her surgery, there were no signs that her body would reject the kidney she had received from her father.
“At first I was misdiagnosed and it was only when I had sought medical treatment for another illness that the doctor noticed my kidney was no longer working.” Loots said it was like the world had stopped and in 2019 during the Christmas celebrations she had to be rushed to the Hilton Hospital for treatment. “That was one of the longest nights of my life. I had to fight to stay alive.” Loots said she had never fought so aggressively for her life and the one thing that had kept her going was the thought that she could not leave her parents behind. “My mother and father are everything to me, I was fine with dying, but it was the thought of leaving them behind with the loss that kept me going.”
Loot’s kidney was removed and she was placed on dialysis. She said matters worsened with the arrival of Covid-19. “This not only placed more strain on keeping myself safe, but my kidney transplant was going to take longer as doctors did not want to take risks. So we had to wait for the Covid-19 cases to drop.” Loots said that during the Covid-19 lockdown she had learned a great deal about herself and that her attitude towards life had to change.
“Being in lockdown and not being able to go out to a shop was frustrating and I had to keep on reminding myself that the sacrifice made would allow me to live longer and healthier.”
With a drop in the number of Covid-19 cases in November, Loot’s doctor said they could no longer wait to do the surgery and her father had been ready to donate his kidney. “Never did I think I would see the day come.” Loots said as a family they were fearful about the outcome for both her and her father, but that everything worked out in the end. “Dad is even healthier now than he has ever been in his life.”
Despite being faced with various life-threatening challenges, Loots told The Ladysmith Herald that it was her attitude and the way she had looked at situations that helped her. “Even if everything is against you, you need to find the positive and focus all your energy on that, that is what the bigger picture means to me.”
Loots said she found peace when she viewed even the small things in life as special moments. “You learn to laugh through the tears, you learn to be grateful. You humble yourself during life’s journey and always remember that taking one step at a time with a smile on your face is the only way you can overcome it.” Loots said the last couple of years had been difficult and that she had been given a second chance at life and was living it to the fullest. “There are a few things that I’m still struggling with, but it does not stop me.”
Loots said she had started giving people advice on living with diabetes. “Please, understand that I’m no doctor, but I use my personal experiences to advise people with illnesses like mine on how to live healthier.”
