BABY JOY FOR TRANSPLANT WOMAN

[okarol]

BABY JOY FOR TRANSPLANT WOMAN

08:50 - 18 January 2008

A woman who had a kidney transplant just weeks before her wedding has given birth to the child she feared she might never have.

Kaye Simpson and her husband Nicky were at their Buckie home yesterday with their three-and-a-half-week-old baby boy Mason.

This week, the couple handed over £8,000 to the renal units at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as a thank you for their part in making the couple's dream a reality.

Mrs Simpson, 26, suffered irreparable kidney damage from a virus when she was 15 and had been about to begin dialysis in 2005 when a donor was found.

She had only been on the waiting list for 11 weeks, and was given just 10 minutes to decide whether she wanted the transplant.

Within 12 hours, Mrs Simpson, of Colonsay Place, was in the operating theatre at the Edinburgh hospital.

She said: "We started fundraising because I just wanted to give something back. Both hospitals have been really good and so we did it as a thank you.

"Two-and-a-half years ago, I didn't even know I was going to have a transplant let alone get married and have a baby.

"When you first go on to the transplant list, they tell you the average waiting time is two-and-a-half years. That is only an average.

"I was only on the list for 11 weeks but some people can be on it for 11 years.

"There is no knowing and it is hard especially when you are young and you want to be going and doing things.

"I just wasn't well enough before my transplant. Becoming a mum seemed impossible after everything.

"But now Mason's here and it's like a dream come true."

Fundraising began on the night of the couple's wedding, when a raffle was held.

A charity dance at the Royal British Legion in Buckie and a raffle of signed football shirts followed before local gamekeeper Sandy Cruickshank hosted a charity clay pigeon shooting day.

Mrs Simpson's 11-year-old niece, Chloe Grant, also took part in a fun run dressed as Santa, organised by Jog Scotland.

The proud new mum said as well as raising vital funds, she hoped the fundraising effort had raised awareness and given hope to others.

"For young people that are maybe ill, they can see that in the future they might still be able to go on and do whatever they want and even have children," Mrs Simpson said.

Money raised will be divided equally between ARI, where Mrs Simpson had pre and post-operative treatment, and the Edinburgh kidney unit.

http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149664&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149490&contentPK=19590188&folderPk=85696&pNodeId=149221

[KT0930]

I had my son 18 years after my first transplant, and though the doctors later recommended that I not have any more children, I still refer to my son as my miracle child. I wouldn't trade him for anything, even if it meant I would still have that transplant.