True Story

REAL LIFE SHOCKER

My life is great now and I have both my parents. But at one point I thought my Mum would never be OK again. Here I talk about my life after finding out my Mum had something seriously wrong.

Funny Kidneys

I was very young when I found out about Mum’s “funny kidneys!” That’s all she told me. Mum had to use a small pen-like injection quite often and I was always very curious about it. She told me that when she was younger she had an accident when playing rugby and checking her over in hospital, the doctors found she had a kidney malfunction. When she told me this it was hard to take in, at the time I was not worried because I didn’t know enough about it.

Tube

Over the years I learnt more and more until I got incredibly scared when I had to stay with my aunt for a week while Mum started to go on dialysis. This meant she had an operation to have a tube going into her stomach where fluid would be taken in and out (doing the job her kidneys couldn’t do anymore.) This went on for a while but I began to get used to it. The thing that worried me most was the idea of losing Mum. I heard lots of stories about people who died from not getting new organs. That Christmas I wished for Father Christmas to give Mum a new kidney, I was that desperate!

Phone Call

7 months later, when I was nine, I was leaving to go to school when Mum got a phone call. She told me as I was saying goodbye that it was the hospital and they might have a suitable kidney for her! I left the house on such a high. It was the news we had all been waiting to hear for so long! At school it was all I could think about! “If the kidney suits Mum, she will be better!” I told everyone.

It’s Happening

Later on, I got home from school to find my Dad there not Mum. He told me she was in hospital about to have her transplant! The shock hit me so hard that I could not believe it. It sounds like a stupid cliché but I was speechless and I could barely breathe! I knew Mum was going to be OK at last but I was worried too. Dad drove us to the hospital where I said hello to Mum before I watched her get whisked away on a bed! I felt so happy that all my troubles were gone and I started to cry with happiness. Dad and I were overwhelmed.

Hello Again

After her operation I wasn’t allowed to see her because I was too young. I felt so angry that they were keeping me away from my own Mum. The doctors said it was because of the risk of infection and I decided I would do anything to keep Mum safe so I waited until I was allowed. Eventually they let me in to see her and after about a week she came home! My family was back together again! Ever since then, my life just got better and better! Well...Dad did get cholera from a trip to Tanzania but after that everything definitely got better! I am just so happy to have everyone back to normal again.

I now know that the kidney donor my mum received was from a man who sadly died. We wrote a letter to the donor family to thank them for giving my mum back and for taking all my worry away. My mum now takes part in The British Transplant Games and competes in many sports. She also works full time and does dance and sports clubs. It’s incredibly important to say that giving organs or blood can change and save lives; my story says it all. So if you can, please put yourself on the donor list and make a family’s life better.

Thank You