Opening up a Facebook message on my phone, I tried to work out who had sent it. I didn’t recognise the woman’s name – and clicking on her profile, I realised she was a complete stranger. Reading the words, a lump formed in my throat. ‘The kidney is yours,’ she’d written. It was August 2016 and I’d known for two years that I’d need a new kidney to survive, but now a stranger was offering to give me hers. I felt like I was dreaming.
For as long as I could remember, my life had been defined by my poor health. I was born with a congenital defect in my urinary tract. My right kidney failed when I was a baby, and my left kidney had low function. My earliest memories are of staying on the children’s ward at Dundee Royal Infirmary, listening out for the familiar clack, clack, clack of my mum Irene’s high heels as she came to visit me in between her own shifts as a nurse.
It wasn’t until I reached my teen years when I truly started to realise how different I was. My condition meant I needed a catheter and I was worried it would put boys off – but when I was 15, I met Paul, who was the same age, and he wasn’t fazed. We moved in together in February 1994, when I was 19, but by then my kidney function was lower than ever, at just 25%, and doctors told me I would need a transplant.
‘I’m your donor,’ Mum, then 43, said every time the word transplant was mentioned. I was so grateful to her, but I still dreaded the day when that would become my only option.
この記事は WOMAN'S OWN の July 06, 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は WOMAN'S OWN の July 06, 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
'SEEING MY NAME ON TV IS SURREAL'
Loose Women newbie Olivia Attwood Dack on joining the hit show, marriage and career goals
THE MISSING PIECE
My earliest memory of my older sister Priya wasn’t one where she was present, but rather, the realisation of her absence.
WEEKNIGHT WINNERS
Rustle up these tasty family dinners with just five easy ingredients
SMILING THROUGH CANCER
Like most mums, when my kids are upset I’ll do almost anything to turn their frowns upside down, whether it’s making Max, 11, his favourite chocolate cake or putting on silly voices for Georgia, eight, when she’s had a bad day at school.
BRAVERY AMIDST SUCH HORROR
The Woman's Own columnist has her say on dinner time, posh grub and wet summers
RELAX & RESET
For farm-to-table food and a game-changing spa, head for the dramatic Dolomites
HELP! I'M TURNING INTO MY MUM
As the years pass, Heather Main, 39, realises she’s inheriting more and more of her mother’s traits
I WAS MISTAKEN FOR MY HUSBAND'S MISTRESS!
When Gemma Loveden, 38, lost l6st, a family member was convinced she was someone else...
Denise confesses I'MA MORNING SEX PERSON'
Never one to mince her words, Denise Welch is much-loved by fans for her refreshing honesty.
Cat & Ben SNUBBED!
Are the This Morning hosts feeling disgruntled after missing out on an NTA nomination in favour of Alison?