Stina Nordine (39) lives a different life than most people. She has terminal kidney failure. She is desperately waiting for a new kidney, so she can live life exactly the way she wants.
Every other day Nordine has to go through dialysis. A four-hour process, which cleanses the blood she has in her body.
Without dialysis, the 39-year-old will not survive.
– I have reviewed this every other day since September in 2019. It is a very heavy process. But it is vital. The kidneys have completely failed, says Nordine to Dagbladet.
She still wants to make it clear that even though life is tough, she stays positive and does her best to live the life she wants.
SMOOTH: Stina Nordie says that she smiles a lot and loves the Norwegian nature. She’s not going to give up. Photo: Private
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Someone must die
Now she’s waiting for the phone to ring. Someone has to die for her to live a normal life.
She tries not to think about it.
– I do not go and think about it, but it’s weird. I do not hope that anyone will die for my sake, but at the same time I hope that a phone will ring, says Nordine.
“Blood-motorhome”
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When Dagbladet calls Nordine, she is sitting in a motorhome by Malangen, in the middle of dialysis.
She says that she has taken on a big task in the coming months.
– I am in full swing cycling along Norway to create awareness about organ donation.
– At the moment, I and 500 other Norwegians are waiting for new bodies. We who wait for hearts, livers, lungs, pancreas and kidneys. We can get another chance if more people register as a donor, says Nordine.
– Need a supporter
She started cycling from the North Cape on 21 June. The plan is to arrive at Lindesnes on 25 September.
– I could not ride this trip alone. I have to go through dialysis every other day, and needed a supporter. That’s why I have my father in a motorhome while I cycle. The dialysis machine is included in the motorhome.
She says that her father is on the trip now, but that there are many relatives and friends who will switch to driving the motorhome.
– Someone has to drive the motorhome while I ride a bike.
EUROPE’S NORTHERN POINT: Stina will start the trip on June 20 by going out to Knivskjellodden, Europe’s northernmost point. – – It’s a day trip round trip. Rune Gjeldnes, my good friend and adventurer, sent me the flag he had with him when he and Torry Larsen crossed the North Pole – as a motivation for this trip of mine. Photo: Private
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Heavy combination
Nordine makes it clear that dialysis makes the bike ride very demanding, as it is exhausting for her. She has no idea how long she will be able to live with the dialysis, but she refuses to give up.
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– We have about five liters of blood in the body. The dialysis machine sends my blood in and out of the machine and body 16 times in four hours. It gives a certain balance to the body, which is really the function of the kidneys. It is very hard on the body. It is individual how long you can handle it, she says.
The kidneys’ task is, among other things, to excrete waste products and to produce urine, something the dialysis machine has helped Nordine with several times in her life.
– Suddenly I was completely healthy
EXTREME: Stina Nordine decided at a young age to defy more advice from the doctors, to be able to live the life she wants to live. Photo: Karoline OA Pettersen
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She had kidney problems as early as the age of 14. Then she was told that at some point in the future she would need a new kidney.
In the following years, it was noticeable for Nordine that she had bad kidneys, but it was not until she turned 28 that she had to start dialysis for the first time.
– Then I had been heavy for a while, and my kidneys began to fail. Life was put on hold. But after two and a half years on dialysis, I got my aunt’s kidney.
– It changed my life right away. Suddenly I was completely healthy. It was like being born again, says Nordine.
But six years ago, the kidneys began to fail again. Now they have failed completely and dialysis every other day is what keeps Nordine alive.
Now she’s waiting for the phone to ring.
SICK: Stina Nordine is desperately waiting for a new organ. She hopes more people will register as organ donors in Norway. Photo: Karoline OA Pettersen.
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