A 31-year-old Hanover Park man is in renal failure and desperately needs a kidney transplant.
Rameez Adams 31, who previously lived in Mitchell’s Plain, was diagnosed with renal failure in November 2021. He gets dialysis three times a week, for four hours at a time.
Mr Adams is unable to work because of the time he needs to take off to go for dialysis. He is in the final stage of renal failure.
His problems started in September 2021 when he went to his general practitioner complaining of bad backache. By November he started losing weight, was in constant pain and became depressed. He stopped eating and drinking, and on November 29, 2021, he was diagnosed with renal failure.
Mr Adams is on a transplant list for a kidney. The donor must be blood type O positive or O negative.
Earlier this month, he had operations to drain fluid from his lungs.
“The lesson in this is to always be kind and treat people kindly. You don’t know what they are going through. Before this, I didn’t know what people in renal failure go through and the cost involved. If you miss a session, you can die, and the session can cost up to R2500 each. Mine is at the very end, but I won’t give up. Your life doesn’t stop on dialysis, but your diet and lifestyle must change. I am more healthier now. I lost weight going from 96kg to 63kg,” he said.
Unfortunately we realised too late that unhealthy foods were bad for us, he said.
“I believe that more awareness must be made about dialysis because people are struggling,” he said.
His wife, Ibtisaam Adams, said they remained optimistic and the diagnosis had brought them closer together as a couple.
“Yes it has changed our lives. Things are a little different because it’s dialysis three times a week, and we can’t really make plans because we don’t really know how he is going to feel. Most days he’s tired when he gets home from his sessions, but through every difficulty comes ease.
“I feel extremely blessed to be able to go through this with him. I am extremely proud of him and how positive his mindset has been through his journey. We make duah that he finds a donor and that everything goes well with the surgery when the time comes, In sha Allah, so that he is able to live a ‘normal life’.”
She said that they continued to ask everyone to pray for his health and they were “forever grateful” to everyone who had helped and continued to help.
To find out more about how you can help, call Gatesville Melomed Hospital at 021 637 8100, Mr Adams at 079 168 5280 or Ms Adams at 072 693 7758.