By Bejay Browne.
Just months after undergoing surgery to give his mother one of his kidneys, 31-year-old Nicolas Miltiadous is busy running marathons both to prove his quality of life has been unaffected and to raise funds for the Paphos Kidney Association.
Miltiadous, a staff sergeant in the national guard from Nicosia, underwent surgery last November at the Nicosia general hospital to remove one of his kidneys which was then successfully transplanted into his mother. Although she still has to take medication, she no longer has to undergo daily haemodialysis treatment.
“I was always under the impression that donating a kidney would mean a loss of quality of life and that the donor wouldn’t be able to do the things they did before,” Miltiadous told the Paphos Post. “This is absolutely not true and I want to show that life is great after this procedure, and that it can be even better than before.”
The soldier said that he had been reassured by his surgeon and the ‘fantastic’ medical team in Nicosia that after a recovery period his fitness and health would not be compromised.
“Of course, it’s painful to have an organ removed that is obvious, it’s major surgery and after I was discharged I had to have two months off work. My mother, Marlette, had three months, but we are both fine now.”
Diagnosed with kidney failure which doctors believe may have been caused by chronically high blood pressure, Marlette was hooked up to a haemodialysis unit at home, needing treatment every four hours. She would have to race home every lunch break to connect to the machine for treatment, before returning to work. This was followed by a year of treatment every night.
A year ahead of the operation, the surgeon told Miltiadous to lose as much weight as possible to ensure the operation had the highest possible successful outcome.
This inspired him to take up running and to participate in marathons at home and abroad.
Two weeks before his November 2018 surgery, the soldier ran the Athens marathon and one week before the operation, he completed a 10K race in Larnaca.
Only two months after surgery he competed in a 12KM race and on March 24 broke his personal best, running the half marathon in Limassol.
Miltiadous is now raising awareness and much-needed funds for the Paphos Kidney Association.
Graham Brown, the chairman of the Paphos Kidney Association, which spends the funds it raises on equipment for the renal unit at Paphos general hospital, said he is delighted by the cooperation with the solider.
“We want to get more Cypriots involved and Nicolas has so many great ideas, we are thrilled,” he said.
Funds for the new renal unit have been brought forward from the 2021 budget as a matter of urgency, said Brown, and the new facility is due to be completed by the end of 2021, although adding the 25 beds will still not be enough, he said.
There are 850 million people with kidney problems and 80,000 in Cyprus, he added.
Miltiadous is planning to participate in the marathon in Denmark, in May, another in Ireland and then the Athens marathon in full combat gear, raising funds at all three for the Paphos Kidney Association.
“We are hoping to set up a donation fund via Facebook in the immediate future,” said Brown.
Please donate by e-mailing : cypruskidney@gmail.com for the charity’s bank details.
‘Paphos Kidney Association’ on Facebook or www.cypruskidney.com
Cyprus transplant association: www.transplant.org.cy
