CHEO doctor/swim mom jumps in for Canadian Transplant Games

By Kaitlyn LeBoutillier

For Jennifer Vethamuthu, the stars aligned on Aug. 7, as her professional, personal and athletic lives all came together during the Canadian Transplant Games in Ottawa.

As a pediatric nephrologist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Vethamuthu researches and treats young patients with kidney conditions.

Recently, she needed to receive a kidney transplant herself. Her husband was willing to donate one of his kidneys to her, but testing showed that he was not a medical match.

“So we went into the paired exchange program, and he was able to donate to someone else, and someone donated to me,” recounts Vethamuthu. “Without that, I wouldn’t have [received my transplant]. I’m so grateful for that program that they run.”

Vethamuthu is also very appreciative for the work of the Ottawa Hospital’s surgical and care teams during her surgery and recovery. She’s now returned to work.

“I feel, in a way, really blessed now, being on the other side as a patient, and being able to experience what they’re going through,” adds the University of Ottawa and McGill University grad. “I feel like, in some ways, it will make me a better physician, because I have a better understanding of what they’re going through, so being able to work through some of the side effects and the medications, some of those expectations, I feel like I’m better prepared to do that with them.”

During her recovery, Vethamuthu was told about the Canadian Transplant Games, which were held in Ottawa from Aug. 3-9. Centred around Carleton University for the athletes parade and opening ceremonies, the 10th edition of the Games featured a dozen sports at various venues across the city, plus a run and other events for organ transplant recipients, donors, family members and supporters.

For Vethamuthu, the Games couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I really saw it as an opportunity,” she highlights. “It was a good goal for me after my surgery, to think, ‘OK, if I can just get myself ready for August for these Games.”

Vethamuthu took part in the swimming competition. She has been swimming since she was a teenager and her two sons are both competitive swimmers.

“It is definitely a huge part of our lives,” she smiles. “The funny thing is that the pool that we raced in (at Nepean Sportsplex), is where my boys train. This time it was a crazy reversal, because normally I’m in the stands watching them compete and train, and this time they were in the stands watching me swim.”

There are high-performance athletes who have taken part in transplant competitions – among them five-time Paralympic running medallist Jason Dunkerley and 2019 World Transplant Games triple-medallist high jumper Marie-Eve Chainey of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club – although for most, the Games are less of a competitive event and more of a celebration and chance to connect to others in the transplant community.

Vethamuthu says that she only trained for a couple of weeks, “but even at that, just being able to have the opportunity to go and participate and to do it, it was just an amazing feeling,” she reflects. “The people that I met and just hearing a lot of the stories, it makes me feel like, wow, how lucky you are to be in the situation that you’re in now, and being healthier now with a new organ, being able to do some of these normal things.”

The overwhelming consensus among everyone Vethamuthu spoke with was that the Games were a great experience.

“It’s something that I would like to continue to participate in because it feels like such an amazing community and just so supportive,” she underlines. “Being in Ottawa was great too, because I had mentioned to my team that I’m participating in these Games, and again, because of what I do as a nephrologist, and because we take care of transplant patients as well, I think it’s sort of opened up the Transplant Games on a different level to our group at CHEO.”

Moving forward, Vethamuthu and her team at CHEO’s goal is to advertise and talk about the Transplant Games at their clinic so that more kids can make it a goal of theirs to participate.

“We want to engage more of our patients for the next Games,” she signals.

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