MADISON CO., Ala. (WAFF) – Madison County Commission Chair Mac McCutcheon will leave office in two months due to kidney disease that requires his full attention.
McCutcheon, 73, announced his retirement from the county’s top position after serving as Alabama House Speaker. He said the decision was difficult because he is in the middle of a term voters elected him to serve.
“It was a difficult decision, Liz, to make because I’m in the middle of a term that the people elected me to serve and I feel that responsibility to the people to do my job,” McCutcheon said.
His wife, Debbie McCutcheon, said her husband has never not completed something he started in his life.
McCutcheon said he is within a few clicks of having total kidney failure. He doubts he will make the transplant list since the cut-off age is 65.
“And with that in mind, then dialysis is my next option,” McCutcheon said.
He is trying to avoid the four-hour, three-times-a-week treatment at a center. McCutcheon said he is praying to be a candidate for a newer approach involving a permanent implant that functions as an internal, artificial kidney.
“And then what this machine does is pump a solution into that body cavity while you’re sleeping at night. And it absorbs the impurities in your body. And then it takes that and pumps it back out,” McCutcheon said.
Debbie McCutcheon said the machine sits on a nightstand and patients hook themselves up to it at night before bed.
McCutcheon said being tired is his only real symptom, which he attributed to 12-hour work days. His doctor told him high cholesterol and years of high blood pressure caused his current condition.
“Kidney disease is a silent killer And there’s so many people that don’t even realize their kidneys that they have kidney disease until it’s too late,” McCutcheon said.
Mac and Debbie McCutcheon have faced health challenges before. Mac survived prostate cancer, and Debbie is one year out from aggressive breast cancer.
“So, and He was there for me the whole time. You know, so I’ll be there for him,” Debbie McCutcheon said.
The couple has been together 58 years and wants to enjoy their remaining time together on their own schedule.
“Well, it’s the fact that there’s nothing more valuable than your health. Because good health provides a good quality of life for you to live. And life is precious. And it’s something that you should never take for granted,” McCutcheon said.
McCutcheon said once he finds his footing and a new normal, he may help others through volunteering if he feels well enough. He still plans to make an impact, especially for those facing kidney disease.
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