Interview This Sunday opens the 10th National Winter Games for transplant patients and dialysis patients, in which Jordan Prüfer, double transplant patient and dialysis patient, participates for the first time.
After training in La Plagne, Jordan, a double transplant patient and on dialysis, is ready to take part in his very first National Winter Games for transplant patients and dialysis patients, the 10th edition of which opens this Sunday. . — Jordan Prüfer
- Organized by the Trans-Forme association, the National Winter Games for transplant patients and dialysis patients aim to raise public awareness of donation organs.
- Among the participants, Jordan Prüfer, 64, heart and kidney transplant recipient, on dialysis, but ready for his first participation in this competition.
Slalom, super-G, cross-country skiing or biathlon. The week promises to be sporty in the small resort of Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise, in Savoie, where; take place at As of this Sunday, the 10th National Winter Games for transplant patients and dialysis patients, organized by the Trans-Forme association. For five days, nearly 60 participants, transplanted or dialysis athletes of all ages as well as their companions, will hit the slopes to promote the success of the transplant, hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Transplants that give them a new life and allow them to play sports.
Among the athletes of the week: Jordan Prefer. Transplanted of the heart and a kidney, and today under dialysis, he is preparing, to 64 years old, at; participate in; his very first games. And tell 20 Minuteshis journey and his rhythmic daily life by dialysis sessions.
Why did you choose to participate in this competition?
Collectively, it’s a great opportunity to highlight the importance of organ and blood donation, of which we, transplant recipients, dialysis recipients or those awaiting a transplant, hang so much. To date, more than 27,000 people are on the waiting list in France. We cannot say enough how important it is to give: it saves lives.
And that saved mine. When I was young, I skied competitively until I’ 20 years old, the age at which I had a cardiac arrest, due to to undetected cardiomyopathy. I’ve been asked a pacemaker on which I was totally dependent, and I obviously had to stop the competition. I was able to keep one foot in this universe by teaching skiing for a few years, I practiced skiing. other sports and competes in motorcycle trials. But in 2012, my heart was too weak, and for lack of a donor, I first received an artificial heart, before, a year later, having a transplant. heart and kidney. A double transplant because the doctors deemed my kidneys too weak to withstand the anti-rejection treatment. So I wouldn’t be there. without graft. And since skiing is my sport of choice, I was only too happy to take this opportunity to participate in this event. this competition and to convey the message that we carry. And also to prove that it is possible to lead a life as normal as possible even when one is transplanted. and dialysis.
But the course was long before finding a life at home; almost normal. How was your recovery after your double transplant?
The body must first absorb the shock! After the installation of my artificial heart, I passed from 75 to 50 kg : I lost muscle, passed a lot of time in bed, and I had to relearn how to walk. And when I started to get my head out of the water, I put myself in condition for the definitive transplant, by doing a lot of cycling, to prepare myself physically and mentally for my life. the double graft. And after the transplant, I stayed. hospitalized almost two years. We also had to get back into our heads, not lock ourselves into nostalgia for what we were. in her pre-transplant life and “rephasing” with everyday life.
And in practice, we also sign up for anti-rejection treatment. life. These are immunosuppressants, to prevent the body from considering the graft as a foreign body. It’s very tiring at first, you have to get used to it’ take medicine every day, and accept what is happening to you. As long as we do not accept, we do not advance.
And to move forward, how has your sports mind helped you?
Çhas been decisive, not to regain exactly my physical abilities before the transplant, but to regain the state of mind and the strength of conviction to move forward and keep my motivation. When we compete, we have a goal in addition to surpassing others: surpassing ourselves. Awakening my athletic mind allowed me to surpass myself, to push the machine, as we do in training and in competition, it’s the same logic.
< p>As of 2019, you have been on dialysis three times a week. What does the daily life of a dialysis patient look like?
My kidney has deteriorated. after having contracted the cytomegalovirus, all the more virulent as the immune defenses are low. So they put me on dialysis, three times a week. My blood passes through a machine, a kind of artificial kidney that filters it before reinjecting it into me. Obviously, it’s a constraint, but since 2019, I’ve found a form never equaled since the transplant. At the time, ç was a little tired, but the rest of the time I’m in great shape for my 64th birthday.
For me, dialysis is happiness! Even if it is heavy in terms of schedule, since each session lasts four hours, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon. I tell myself that it’s harder than going to work all day, I who practiced it. 60 hour weeks. During the session, I always have my computer, it’s a ritual: I watch films, scientific conferences. I also write. I put the time of my sessions to profit to tell my story in a book, a testimony that I wanted to pass on to everyone. my family. And today, after nearly losing everything, I feel the urge to pass it on to as many people as possible.
And the rest of the time, on a daily basis, I am at least as active as other men my age. I do crafts, I maintain my garden, I swim. I’ve always been very active, I had fun all my life, and today I am a retiree. dialysis and grafted but happy, and with steely spirits!
Ready for your first winter games?
I’m taking part in the several events of these games: giant slalom on Monday, special slalom on Tuesday, super-G on Wednesday, record event and parallel slalom on Thursday. The week promises to be very sporty! I’ll go relaxed: the goal is to spread the message of the Trans-Forme association and to have fun, trying to surpass yourself a little along the way.
One can get up from ça if the mind and the will; are there. And what pride: you can have a double transplant, be on dialysis; and participate in; a sports competition!