As a father of three and a local boxing coach in St. Mary’s Boxing Club, New Ross, Stefan Whelan from Newbawn has always enjoyed the activity around family life while keeping himself fit, including the completion of triathlons while on home dialysis which came about suddenly while having to prepare for a lifechanging course of events.
Stefan participated in three triathlons over the last four years, in Tri the Hook, and while on the third he was assisted by his son, Seanie (21), who completed the running stage on his behalf. As a fitness enthusiast now in his 50s, Stefan explained why he poured his energy into it.
“One of the hardest things about being on dialysis and waiting for the kidney transplant was trying to keep fit because the fitter you are going into any operation, the more likely you are to have a positive outcome and it was also good for my mental health at the time too. I just had to keep trying my best and keep going,” he said.
"I’ve had an issue with my kidneys since birth, but the problem got worse when I was in my 30s and, I was quite ignorant about it, if I’m being honest because I put it on the long finger until I had no choice but to go to the doctor about it," Stefan added.
In 2000, Stefan worked in construction at the time and he was concerned with outbreaks of gout and then lumps appearing on his ears. He was worried he had cancer, and when he was diagnosed with a kidney-related illness, he was told his kidn...
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