Bay woman had hours to make life-saving kidney transplant

A young Uitenhage woman had just 12 hours to make it from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town for a life-saving kidney transplant – and had it not been for a hero nurse, she would not have made it.

Cally Williams, 29, of Gamble in Uitenhage, arrived at the Cape Town hospital with just 10 minutes to spare before her life-changing kidney transplant surgery.

A selfless nurse at Netcare Cuyler Hospital in Uitenhage drove Williams, her aunt and another kidney recipient throughout the night for the 800km journey to Cape Town.

“There was not a moment to lose,” Sister Salome Siebritz, of the National Renal Care (NRC) unit at the hospital, said.

Donor kidneys had to be transplanted within a certain timeframe after becoming available, Siebritz said.

Williams received the call she had long been waiting for at about 6pm on March 4.

She was told she needed to be at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town the next morning.

“I have known Cally for about eight years – she’s one of our renal patients and all of us in the renal unit are very close,” Siebritz said.

“I just decided to help after she phoned to let me know a kidney was available to her and she needed to go to Cape Town – but there were some problems.

“I first tried to book a flight for her, but unfortunately all the flights were fully booked and there were no flights going out at that time.

“So I decided to drive her to Cape Town.”

An emotional Williams said: “I was praying for that miracle to happen every day, for the past eight years. I think I had lost hope.”

Williams had been reliant on dialysis after suffering kidney failure.

Her aunt, Mercia Heilbron, went with them and helped Siebritz with the driving.

Heilbron said: “When that telephone call finally came, we were overcome with emotion.

“After we received the news, we were desperately trying to find a way to get Cally to Cape Town in time.”

The other kidney patient, who was fetched from Port Elizabeth, has chosen to remain anonymous.

Siebritz said: “I called the NRC unit to request petty cash for petrol money.

“The staff all expressed their desire to contribute.

“They started a collection, and everyone from the doctors to the cleaning staff, as well as a number of patients, were eager to make donations to help our kidney recipients reach Cape Town in time.”

The four of them set off at about 9pm on March 4 and arrived in the Mother City just before 6am with just minutes to spare.

“They did a few tests again and I went in for the surgery at around 8am. It took four hours,” Williams said.

The other patient’s surgery was carried out at Groote Schuur Hospital.

“I spent two weeks in hospital after the surgery and then another week at my cousin’s who lives in Cape Town,” Williams said.

“I feel very blessed and overwhelmed and to everyone who has been there for me I’d like to say thank you.”

Heilbron said: “As a family, our most profound thanks goes to the donor, who in their lifetime made the decision to offer others a chance at life through registering as an organ donor.”