Watch: Pawła Opens Up On Mother’s Death From Kidney Failure And Urges More Awareness On Renal Condition
Renowned Maltese TV personality Paulette Gafa’ (known as Pawla) has called for more public awareness on renal failure after losing her mother to the condition earlier this year.
On a recent episode of ONE TV’s Madwar Mejda, Pawla said her mother Antoinette started experiencing symptoms of kidney failure in November 2018.
“We started noticing certain things happening to our mother such as that she couldn’t use the toilet,” she recounted “She insisted it was nothing and it will pass, but eventually we took her to hospital and they had to operate her and put her on a dialysis machine.”
From then on, their lives changed. Besides having to undertake hemodialysis at hospital three times a week, Antoinette had to change aspects of her behaviour.
“She could only sip water in the summer heat and when we would go out to ear, we would order her a glass of ice for her to chew on.”
Antoinette was placed on a kidney transplant list, and while Pawla and her relatives tried to donate their own organs, their blood wasn’t compatible enough.
“My mother absolutely didn’t want me to donate my kidney because she didn’t want me to go through what she was going through. However, I inquired anyway but it turned out my blood wasn’t compatible enough so I couldn’t donate it anyway.”
Antoinette’s condition degraded over 2022 and she passed away in February 2023 at the age of 61.
Through the heartbreak of losing her mother, Pawla said she hopes to raise awareness of renal failure and encourage more people to register as organ donors.
“I can’t bring my mother back but I want to raise awareness and call for more resources because these people are suffering in silence daily,” she said, estimating that around 350 people in Malta currently suffer from renal failure.
Do you know someone who suffered from renal failure?
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