4 — Friday, March 28. 1997 — North Shore News New Road te recovery a rough ride By lan Noble News Reporter MANY kidney trans- plants go well. But for Gene Borys, whose kid- neys had been failing for more than 20 years, the process was initially a nightmare. At one point he thought he was going to dic. “Mentally, 1 was a basket case,” said the now-recovered Borys, a father of three. “Everything seemed to be going wrong. You get the tecl- ing you're cursed.” Borys, a West Vancouver resident who runs Miriant’s ive cream outlets with his wife Miriam, said that whoever donated his kidney must have met a tragic death. The kidney was in shock when he received it in May last year after a hasti- ly-arranged operation. Once the new kidney was transplanted to Borys, it did nothing, said Borys, who is in his early forties. Three weeks later, when many transplant recipients start fecling better, Borys was throwing up. “I was sicker than a dog,” he said. The kidney still wasn’t working -and Borys had quit dialysis. His body was not being cleansed. Finally, the kidney started NEWS photo Terry Peters WEST Vancouver resident Gene Borys received a transplanted kidney. His health has returned. Borys was lucky to receive an organ. Many British Columbians die while waiting for a transplant. working. But two weeks later, part of the kidney died off, said Borys. His urine went into his stomach instead of the bladder and Borys was sick again. Doctors told him they had to do an intense, nine-hour operation to reconstruct the damaged organ. There was no guarantee the operation would be a success. Borys’s kidrey problems ~ had taken a heavy toll. He had fost 31 pounds on his 182-cen- timeter (6-foot, |-inch) frame, he was throwing up and felt dreadtul for weeks. The physi- cal manifestations of his illness and his need for two major operations within a month combined with the _ lofty expectations of fecling better. It took a toll and pushed Borys into depression. “At one point [ thought | was going, to die, that was the bottom linc.” Fortunately, the second -Gurs EVERYTHING BUT YOUR APPETITE. Stop running on empty. Cruise on over and enjoy the Legendary taste of White Spot in the convenience of your own car. The Carhop Combo Original Hamburger, signature fries and choice of soft drink. LEGENDARY PLACE. $7399 LEGENDARY TASTE. 1100 - 333 BROOKSBANK AVE. (PARK & TILFORD) NORTH VANCOUVER 752 MARINE DRIVE (PARK ROYAL) WEST VANCOUVER FOR DRIVE-IN ONLY. OFFER AVAILABLE AT THE ABOVE LOCATIONS FROM (MARCH 21ST UNTIL APRIL 13TH } .b9:00 A.M - CLOSE). PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES OWHITE SPOT RESTAURANTS operation was a success. A few weeks later, in August of last year, the kidney began to work well. Now, Borys feels fantastic. “probably haven’ felt this good in 10 years.” He has even played a cou- ple of hockey games and plans to resume his puck career next winter. . Two years ago, his kidneys had totally failed. He began hooking himself up to a dialy- sis machine every night for nine hours to cleanse the tox- ins from his body. He couldn’s swim because 1H” EAVICE L7D. shop he bad a tabe in his belly that the dialysis treatment was per- formed on. Borys said that while on dialysis, he could feel his beady deteriorating, and once again Gene Borys lapsed into depres- sion. He was on the kidney trans- plant list for 10 months. A 2 a.m. call informed him that a kidney was available. Borys thought often of getting a donated kidney as his salvation, to whisk him away trom the regimen of daily dial- ysis and feeling poorly. Borys is luck: he got a kid- ney and now has a new life. But the Kidney Foundation of Canada says there is a critical shortage of the organs. Every year, said the founda- tion, a growing number of British Columbians die while waiting for a transplant. 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