In 2001 I was diagnosed with Membranous Glumero-Nephritis. This is better known as renal failure.

It placed both Jackie’s and my lives on hold and the hell began.

To be allowed to intake only 1 litre of fluid per day and have a constant thirst that you can never quench. To be only allowed to eat the most basic of foods, no dairy, no fruit (fresh or tinned), no vegetables, no nuts, no fruit juices, no tinned fish, no milk. Basically you’re living on bread and water (but not too much water!)

Travelling to Addenbrookes hospital every other day at 7.30am for a four hour dialysis session to remove what little fluid you have drunk and to remove the toxins contained in the foods that you have eaten. And then back home for about 1pm for another forty odd hours of torture until your next dialysis.

On top of all this you actually feel terrible. You feel constantly sick, extremely week and your living on a diet of drugs, to help you survive all this. This leaves you generally feeling quite grumpy and you are not the best company for your partner. Having flu or the like leaves you in a similar unsociable frame of mind but flu does not last for the six years that we suffered.

In 2005 Jackie was tested to see whether she was compatible for kidney donation as the waiting list for a cadaver donor was ever growing.
The great and incredible news was that she was an excellent match!

Although she then had an incredibly difficult eighteen months attaining a suitable level of fitness to undergo the operation she set about this with spirit.

On April 23rd 2007 and despite her absolute terror of hospitals we arrived at the transplant ward and the next day I received a kidney from Jackie which gave me my life back.

I can now lead a normal life, eat and drink what I want and when I awake in the morning evaluate how good I feel rather than how bad.

To win a multi-million pound cash prize on the lottery would be a distant and sad second place to the gift that Jackie gave me.

In addition to this I am so grateful to all the staff at Addenbrookes for the excellent care they provided prior to, during and since the transplant.

Now to the point…..I am going to jump from a perfectly serviceable aircraft at 13,000 feet and parachute to earth (hopefully) on March 29th to raise funds for Kidney Research UK and I would be extremely grateful for your support.

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Kidney Research UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.