Nathan's story

I was very fit and healthy, in fact I was a competitive bodybuilder and knew my body inside out, so when something wasn’t right I knew it wasn’t right.

In October/November of 2012 i started to feel very tired and slow. I started to shiver a lot, had terrible cramps and i became very itchy. Nothing had changed in my diet but I was preparing for the British Finals so training was very intense, so I put it down to exhaustion and gave myself a week off  training. I felt better so carried on with my training. Everything seemed to be back on track.

A few months later and things changed drastically. Daily, I was getting weaker and weaker and I just could not stop going to the toilet. It was comical to a degree as when I drank it literally came straight back out again. 

My girlfriend insisted that I went to the doctor, but I did the typical male thing and didn’t but went to the chemists and took everything from over the counter to cure what I thought was the worst cold and sore throat I had ever had. When this didn’t work I took myself off to my G.P. and explained my symptoms. I had a blood test and waited for the results.

A short while later I was in Tamworth tucking into a jacket potato when a call came through. It was my GP with the results. I remember the words she said vividly to this day. “Hi Mr.Black this is your doctor here. How are you feeling”? She said.

“Well i think I’m ok but I presume that your call may have some news about that”, I said.

“I’d like you to get to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham please as soon as you can”.

“Why”, I replied.

“Its nothing to worry about we just need to follow up the blood test with further tests”, she informed me.

Being an inquisitive chap I asked, “I have never been called by my GP about anything , so this sounds serious. I will go but not until you tell me what is wrong”.

She replied that, “there are some markers in your blood that show very high levels of toxins that we need to investigate further and we think your kidneys maybe failing”.

My girlfriend was taking a lecture for her law degree when I called her and off we went to hospital.

We checked in and the medical team was expecting me, which I found strange, and they were even more shocked when I walked in and was looking healthy and well. Then it became apparent why.

My toxins where one of the highest they had seen at the hospital. Creatinine 1860, Urea of around 95, potassium 9 and a host of others that were very scary. 

I was diagnosed with acute kidney injury (AKI) on the 23rd of May and my life changed forever.

The hospital talked to me about all the various options, but without the support of my girlfriend and parents during these early meetings I wouldn’t have understood anything because as each meeting with Nephrologists, Renal Co-Ordinators, Doctors, Transplant co-ordinators and nurses went on I would just switch off. All i could think about was my life had ended. How will I cope? What will I do? I wasn’t listening to anything being said to me. I was lost. Totally lost.

This wasn’t a situation that I could put off until next week, things needed to happen now, which was even more scary. I was sent home and asked to return on Tuesday for a groin line to be fitted and dialysis start. The mud just kept getting thicker and thicker for me to wade through and I was scared, if I am honest.

I spent a week in hospital and I decided that CAPD (continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis) was my choice for dialysis and a catheter was fitted and I was introduced to CAPD and treatment started at home.  During my time on CAPD. I contracted peritonitis twice and was very poorly on both occasions and after about 3 or 4 months my toxins started to increase and a decision made to start haemodialysis. My line was fitted and I started treatment.

We then started to discuss the possibility of someone being a live donor for me. My parents, my girlfriend and some friends came to the meeting and all had the initial cross match testing and my mom was found to be a match, an ABOI (Blood group-incompatible transplantation where A, B and O are our blood types and incompatible blood groups make a transplant unlikely to succeed) match but a problem that could be overcome. So my mom started on her workup and was suitable at its conclusion and a date was set for my transplant.

The transplant itself went well and while I stayed in hospital at The Q.E. in Birmingham for 10 days my mom went home after 2. My toxins stalled at 200 and i had 2 biopsies and numerous scans and the conclusion was that this was the level that the kidney would get to because of its age. An MRI identified a kink in the renal artery and a stent was planned to be fitted.

I woke after surgery and was my usual groggy self. 24 hours went by and I was unable to go to pass urine. The doctors said that this can happen after surgery but to monitor it. 36 hours passed and I knew something wasn’t right. I called the nurse and told her. I also had some symptoms of renal failure again and I just knew what was happening. I started to shiver again, I was itching, I was getting cramps. I went for an ultra sound scan and then and angiogram which identified the stent had clotted . A clot buster was sent down which removed it but then over the next 36 hours 2 more clots formed and after 2 more angiograms the fight was over, my new kidney had failed from lack of blood. I was back in renal failure and back on dialysis.

10 weeks of freedom was all I had and the chance of a new beginning was snatched from me. I was, we all were, so very upset.

While in hospital a good friend of mine, Stuart Bentley, came to visit me and offered to donate a kidney to me. I was shocked and so pleased, I was speechless, Stu was so enthused about it that if it could have been done there and then he would have done. Stu met with the renal transplant team and after the initial cross match Stu was a perfect match and he embarked on his journey through the work up. But just as we got to the last stage the renal doctors at the Q.E. decided that as Stu had irritable bowel syndrome that he was unsuitable to donate and was taken off the programme. It was very disappointing for us all.

My girlfriend was tested, but she didn’t match. She joined the paired scheme but no matches were found in the 2 years that she was part of the scheme. I had an incisional hernia that was repaired, which was later to reopen and I started to lose hope in a better future.

2 very long years went by. Life in general slowed down and everyday tasks became more difficult. The things I used to do with my son pretty much stopped as did most things we did as a family as my life revolved around dialysis and medication.

I stayed positive as there are 2 choices when faced with a situation as this. Curl up in a corner and feel sorry for yourself or adapt to the situation as best you can and enjoy life in the best way you can. I chose the latter.

Then a very good friend of mine, Adel Harrison, her husband Dean said that he would like to help if he could and how does he go about donating. An appointment was made for Dean to see the transplant co-ordinators and his cross match was arranged and wow was it a good one. Blood and tissue match. Deans work up began. After each test the results were great and Dean moved to the next and the next and the next until we hit a brick wall. My antibodies had increased and now we didn’t match and the live donation would be no more. I was devastated. As was Dean and my family.

But Dean would not give up he was more enthused about making me better than I was. He wanted me better no matter what. He agreed to join the paired scheme and because of his O blood group it was highly likely that a match would be found and after just 2 weeks we got the call that a match had been found, and a very good match for me. Our co-ordinator informed us that due to my donors request I had to have my transplant first,  then Dean would donate his kidney.

So we was set and I was admitted to the Q.E. and was transplanted the very next day.

During my recovery Surinder, my Transplant Co-ordinator came to see me to tell me a little bit about my donor. He was about my age and male, (i did say it was a little bit), but that he was an altruistic donor. This made me feel so very lucky and fortunate that someone could give such a gift to a person they don’t even know. But Surinder went on to say that Deans recipient could not have his kidney due to being poorly, but that Dean had agreed to also be an altruistic donor. I was even more  proud of Dean. What a selfless act.

My surgery went very well as did my recovery. I felt very good and toxins were dropping very quickly, day by day. By my discharge 7 days post transplant I was down to a Creatinine of 180, potassium of 6-5.5 and an eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate, or how well your kidneys are working) of 30.

I am now almost 4 month post surgery and things are very stable and I am feeling stronger as each day passes. My medication has been adjusted many times and toxins have been stable for 6 weeks now. I feel great and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the selfless act of Dean Harrison whom without his kindness I would not be where I am today. I am also thankful to a man whom I do not know who also selflessly donated his kidney that has transformed my life and my family’s life. 

I am grateful for the support of my parents and my children with which I can’t thank them enough and I love you for what you did for me.

And to my girlfriend Jo, who walked with me every step of my journey with who’s love and support got me through some very dark days. Thank you hun, love you.

I would say to those that are on dialysis at the moment, stay strong and never lose hope that your time will come. We have to endure the dark days and the hard times to experience the joy and freedom that follows. 

And to those that have thought about or are considering donation, do it. You will save a life but not only transform their life but that of many others.