SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Bindrup, 44, says he never had the chance to live a "normal" life.
From an early age, hospital stays and doctor visits were more frequent than trips to the playground for Bindrup because he was born with only one, partially working kidney.
He received his first kidney transplant by age five, and over the next 16 years, Bindrup received two more kidney transplants and was put on dialysis three times.
Bindrup says he had a near-death experience during his third transplant when he was 21 because it came with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus, which can be dangerous patients who have weakened immune systems.
Bindrup spent about three months on life support before an experimental treatment saved his life. However, the hard part was far from over.
“They told me I would never walk and talk again,” explains Bindrup.
But, he did. Bindrup kept going after his near-death experience and managed to walk out of the hospital a few months later.
“There’s a drive within me that keeps me going. I feel like I am in a race. You don’t give up halfway through the race.”
While Bindrup is back on dialysis and unable to work, music has become his life’s passion and purpose.
Bindrup says he strives to inspire others now through his melodies and life experience. He also wants to bring attention to the dialysis nurses and technicians who he believes don’t get enough recognition.
“They see things that are probably very difficult. I respect each and every one of them,” Bindrup explains.
However, one nurse stands out in his mind: Leslie Dahlberg.
“She is someone that I actually really love as a person, who cares about each and every person that she came in contact with, even if they were mad and grouchy,” Bindrup remarks.
While Dahlberg retired last December, she dedicated 15 years to the profession. Admittedly, Dahlberg says she underestimated how many people she’d have to see pass away when she entered the profession.
However, the people she encountered and cared for during that time kept her committed to her work.
Dahlberg wants patients with kidney failure and their loved ones to know that dialysis doesn’t have to be the end because she has watched the treatment help her patients feel better and live longer.
“This is giving them so much more time with their family. They can still do so many of the things they like to do,” Dahlberg explains.
While dialysis isn’t the preferred treatment for people with severe chronic kidney disease, transplants are, but they’re becoming harder to come by.
According to The Kidney Project, the need for donor kidneys in the United States is rising at 8 percent each year.
More than 100,000 patients in the U.S. are on the kidney transplant list, according to the latest medical data.
While a transplant isn’t an option for Bindrup anymore, he’s looking at medical advancements on the horizon that could give him time even more time on earth.
