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My name is Helen Neighbour and I am planning to walk the Ridgeway National Trail this July, with my friend Juli Lindskog, who has kindly offered to join me. 

We would like to raise funds for the Royal Free Hospital Kidney Patients Association (RFHKPA). 

I have been a renal patient at the Royal Free for 30 years and during this time I have had three kidney transplants, with short spells of dialysis in between.

I wanted to mark this anniversary year by doing something special; to celebrate how amazing it is to be fit and well after all this time, and to thank everyone who helped me at the Royal Free Hospital. 

Since my last kidney transplant in July 2004, I started walking as a way to regain my health. This shifted up a few gears when I got my rescue border collie who was clearly going to need lots of exercise!  Fortunately I live near the Ridgeway in Buckinghamshire, and many of our walks take us along what is known as Britain’s oldest road.  It is 87 miles (139km) long and much of it follows the ancient chalk ridge route used by prehistoric man.  It runs from Overton Hill near Avebury through to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. 

Juli and I will start off on Tuesday 17 July and intend to walk over six days. I could take longer but plan to be home watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics at the very latest (no doubt soaking my feet in a bowl of hot water!). 

I feel excited about this adventure but am also a little apprehensive; asking myself, “am I really fit enough to do this?”  However, it wouldn’t be worth doing if it was going to be easy. 

The thought of being able to help other renal patients in the process, plus the memory of renal friends sadly lost over the years, will no doubt spur me on when it gets tough.

Our kidneys are vital and sophisticated organs. 

They filter and clean 200 litres of blood per day. They remove wasters and excess water from our blood in the form of urine.  

They help balance the levels of chemical substances in our bodies such as sodium, phosphorus and potassium. They also produce important hormones that stimulate bone marrow to make red blood cells; regulate our blood pressure; help keep our bones strong. High blood pressure and diabetes are the main causes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

500 million individuals worldwide are affected. If CKD worsens it can lead to kidney failure. In order to survive, people with severe kidney failure must either receive a transplanted kidney or be kept alive with dialysis, usually by a machine which cleans their blood about three times a week, each session lasting 4-5 hours.

A greater risk than kidney failure is that people with CKD may develop Cardiovascular diseases. People with CKD are 10 times more likely than healthy people, to die of heart attacks and strokes.

One out of 10 adults in the world has some form of kidney damage

 

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