Diagnosis & Starting Dialysis
In June 2009, I was rushed into Whiston Hospital with severe swelling, and after lots of tests, I was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) at the age of 15. In 2012, when I was 18, I had a PD tube fitted. I also had my left kidney removed in June and started peritoneal dialysis.
Getting the Call for Transplant
Then, on the 30th of August 2013, I received a call for a kidney. 
But unfortunately, it only lasted 2 years after a few bouts of rejection. Then FSGS returned just 6 weeks later after a lot of plasma exchanges. Unfortunately, I needed to go back on dialysis, so in September 2015, I started back on dialysis.
Starting back on Dialysis
I’ve had a lot of problems with my fistula with nerve pain, and steel syndrome. So I went back on pd for a few months but, unfortunately, it failed and caused major damage to my heart. I’m now I’m in heart failure. Now I’m Back on Dialysis doing shared HD.
Living on Dialysis
I am healthy, so now I’m just waiting for a transplant. It was horrible being told I was in renal failure, with the diet restrictions and fluid restrictions that accompany it. It was like my life was taken away from me. I feel like I have some control back now however, as I to share care so do all my treatments myself. It includes needling myself, lining machine but in a setting where there is a nurse if I need help.
Waiting for a Transplant
It’s a lot harder than I thought, and I have now been told that I need a live donor for a better chance of the kidney working for me. The reason that I have been told I need a living donor is because there is a better chance the kidney will last longer. As they can give me plasma exchange for two weeks before the transplant to help the chance of it working. So I’m just waiting for someone to say they will donate to me so I can continue to live my life.
