“You can be double transplanted, on dialysis and take part in a competition”

• Organized by the Trans-Forme association, the National Winter Games for transplant patients and dialysis patients aim to raise public awareness of organ donation.

• 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 the 10th National Winter Games for transplant patients and dialysis patients are taking place from this Sunday, 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 Prüfer.

Heart and kidney transplant, and now on dialysis, he is preparing, at 64, to participate in his very first games.

And tells

about his journey and his daily life punctuated by dialysis sessions.

Why did you choose to participate in this competition?

Collectively, this is a great opportunity to highlight the importance of organ and blood donation, on which we, transplant recipients, dialysis recipients or people awaiting a transplant, depend 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 was 20, when I had a cardiac arrest, due to undetected cardiomyopathy.

I was fitted with a pacemaker on which I was totally dependent, and of course I had to stop competing.

I was able to keep a foothold in this universe by teaching skiing for a few years, I practiced other sports and competed 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 heart and kidney transplant.

A double transplant because the doctors deemed my kidneys too weak to withstand the anti-rejection treatment.

So I wouldn't be here without a transplant.

And since skiing is my favorite sport,

I was so happy to take this opportunity to participate in this competition and convey the message that we carry.

And also to prove that it is possible to lead a life as normal as possible even when you are transplanted and on dialysis.

But it was a long journey to return to a more or less normal life.

How was your recovery after your double transplant?

The body must first absorb the shock!

After the installation of my artificial heart, I went from 75 to 50 kg: I lost muscle, spent a lot of time in bed, and I had to learn to walk again.

And when I started to get my head out of the water, I put myself in condition for the final transplant, by cycling a lot, to prepare myself physically and mentally for the double transplant.

And after the transplant, I was hospitalized for almost two years.

We also had to get back into our heads, not lock ourselves into nostalgia for what we were like in life before the transplant and “rephase” ourselves with everyday life.

And in practice, we also sign for lifelong anti-rejection treatment.

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 taking medicine every day, and accepting what's happening to you.

As long as we don't accept, we don't move forward.

And to move forward, how has your sports mind helped you?

It was 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.

Since 2019, you have been on dialysis three times a week.

What does the daily life of a dialysis patient look like?

My kidney deteriorated after contracting 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 have found a form never equaled since the transplant.

At the time, it's a bit tiring, 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 not harder than going to work all day, I who have practiced 60-hour weeks.

During the session, I always have my computer, it's a ritual: I watch films, scientific conferences.

I also write.

I used the time of my sessions to tell my story in a book, a testimony that I wanted to pass on to 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 DIY, I maintain my garden, I swim.

I've always been very active, I've had fun all my life, and today I'm a pensioner on dialysis and a transplant but happy, and with a steely spirit!

Ready for your first winter games?

I participate in 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 go relaxed: the goal is to convey the message of the Trans-Forme association and to have fun, trying to surpass myself a little along the way.

We can get up from that if the mind and the will are there.

And what pride: you can have a double transplant, undergo dialysis and take part in a sports competition!

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• Health

• Graft

• Physical activity

• Ski