HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) – The new year is bringing a new opportunity for a central Ohio teacher battling kidney disease. 

On Wednesday, Cathie Maple will be going back to doing what she loves. After about a year and a half away from work because of health challenges caused by polycystic kidney disease (PKD), she will be teaching in a Hilliard City Schools classroom once again.

“I think I’m going to be exhausted, but a good exhaustion,” Maple said.

She’s battled PKD since she was 19 years old, undergoing three kidney transplants. The latest one happened in May.

From being on dialysis and waiting for a match, it was a long road to get to this point.

“There’s a mixed bag of emotions: fear, anxiety, but I think you have to be purposeful in your intent every day and kind of persevere,” Maple said.

Dr. Ashley Limkemann, an assistant professor of surgery in the division of transplant surgery at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, performed Maple’s most recent transplant.

“Now she’s so strong and you can see the joy in her face, that she feels better and that’s always rewarding when you see how happy and, I guess you could say, full of life patients are,” Limkemann said.

Maple’s comeback and the lives of other transplant recipients would not be possible without donors. Both Maple and Limkemann said they would like to see more people consider donation.

“It’s embracing a legacy,” Maple said. “My life needs to be purposeful in my donor’s name, so that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”

She hopes to meet her donor’s family in 2024 and cannot wait to get back to teaching. While it’s the middle of the school year, Maple said that Wednesday, in a lot of ways, will feel like a first day of school.

“I’m going to have a lot of first days of school for the next few months,” she said. “I didn’t know it would happen, but I get to go back to a fabulous school district with amazing teachers, incredible kids, and I get some more time doing what I’m passionate about.”