My Story,

In January 2015, I was admitted to Wythenshawe hospital with a mysterious rash, arthritis, gastrointestinal distress and an extremely painful ever growing blood blister on my foot. Via a process of elimination which involved a lot of examinations and tests, I was diagnosed with Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (also known IgA Vasculitis).

This is a little known auto-immune condition which more commonly occurs in children who often make a full recovery. In adults, it can have a severe impact on their kidneys leading to chronic kidney disease (CKD). 

After a week in hospital I slowly began to recover from my symptoms and was referred to the Renal unit at the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) for monitoring. Unfortunately, over the next 3 years my kidney function began to slowly decline. I was diagnosed with CKD and treatments were ineffective (as is often the case with this type of disease). 

It soon became clear I would require dialysis or a transplant. For me this was heart-breaking, I am an extremely active person who loves the outdoors, travelling, hiking and mountain biking. Slowly I became less and less capable of doing the things I loved and felt trapped by a cruel twist of fate. My disease was out of my control and the prospect of dialysis became very hard for me to deal with.

I was extremely fortunate that my amazing Mum volunteered without hesitation, to donate a kidney and was a match! I had my transplant in the Autumn of 2018 (pre-dialysis) and the care I received was amazing. I could not be more thankful to my Mum and the staff at the MRI. I am now fully recovered and able to do everything I love in life once again.

Monitoring and counselling at the MRI gave me time to come to terms with the consequences of my disease and the required course of action. I consider myself lucky as so many people who have kidney disease do not even get this advanced notice or support. One day they may go to the doctor feeling tired and have some blood tests, only to be suddenly thrust into the world of dialysis and the transplant waiting list. If you are not lucky enough to have an amazing and compatible live donor the average waiting time for a transplant is currently 3 years, with many people having to wait on the list even longer.

There are many causes of CKD and the only treatments available for people who develop kidney failure are dialysis and transplant. Now I have my life back I want to try and help those people in some way. It is for this reason I have decided to undertake a sponsored cycle ride to raise money for Kidneys for Life.

The Challenge 

In September 2022 an intrepid band of us are finally coming together to raise money for the charity by participating in a cycling challenge from Vienna to Budapest. This involves 230 miles of cycling taking us through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary over 4 days. Normally you can find me careering down a mountain on my MTB so this is quite a change of pace for me! 

The Charity

Kidneys for Life is a charity that was orginally set up at the MRI (the UK’s largest renal unit) and is now also linked with Manchester Royal Children’s hospital and Salford Royal Infirmary. You can read about them and the work they do for patients and their families, as well as the research they help fund on their website http://www.kidneysforlife.org/

Their aims and objectives are below (taken from their website)

· to provide funding of research into kidney disease, transplantation, dialysis and related disease affecting the kidney

· direct patient amenities for renal and transplant patients not usually funded

· support of education and ongoing training of renal multi-disciplinary teams and patients

· support of conferences and workshops both in the UK and overseas

· purchase of medical equipment for the benefit of renal and transplant patients 

I would like to try and raise as much money as possible can for this fantastic charity. The many people living with CKD would be very grateful for anything you can give.

Thank you for taking the time to read my page.