This morning Lester Ben was flown off Mornington Island for a kidney transplant in Brisbane.
He will be the second Wellesley Island resident to ever receive the life – giving operation.
Mr Ben, joined on the long journey south with wife Amanda, says he has awaited this day for the past three years.
“I got the call at 4.00 a.m. today, so it was systems go – I was getting ready all morning and then a quick trip to the local hospital before my flight.”
Lester, who like many other Australian’s, has kidney disease and has to undergo intensive (invasive) dialysis treatment at least three times per week.
“This transplant is life – changing for me, it is going to mean an entire change to my day to day, it will make me feel like me again,” he said before the flight.
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with kidney failure.
Mornington Shire Council Mayor Bradley Wilson has been advocating for greater education around health, as well as more dialysis units to service the remote region – which has a relatively high amount residents suffering the disease.
“For the past five years, we have been lobbying government departments for more health equipment and a proper dialysis unit for Mornington Island,”Cr Wilson said.
“The kidneys have a very important role in maintaining general health and, when healthy, the kidneys maintain the body’s internal equilibrium of water and minerals.”
“I am so pleased for Lester and his family, we (at MSC) wish him all the best with his operation … he has waited a very long time for this outcome.”
Mr Ben will travel nearly 2000 kilometres for the operation and he will likely be in the hospital for about a week.
Left: Coreen Reading (Clinical Nurse Community Health), Lester Ben (patient), Amanda Roughsey (Lester’s partner).
 

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