"Sheldon Crosby watched his daughter Daisy-May go from a shock diagnosis of kidney failure to dialysis, then transplant, in an emotional rollercoaster lasting 16 months."
Daisy-May is now thriving after her mum Hayley donated a kidney for her transplant surgery, just three days before Christmas.
Dad Sheldon said: “Knowing dialysis is the only thing keeping your child alive is a horrible blow as a parent.
Daisy-May is now thriving after her mum Hayley donated a kidney for her transplant surgery, just three days before Christmas.
“Daisy-May had become tired and pale with blue lines round her eyes. Within 24 hours of transplant, her colour came back.
“Her energy is unreal, and her appetite has returned. It’s lovely.
“She’s an extremely strong little girl. Even at her most poorly, she asked how the other kids were on the ward before asking how she was.
“It’s been extremely touching watching our little girl power through this with such strength and such a kind heart.”
Daisy-May’s illness came from nowhere at the age of four when she fell ill during a family holiday to Portugal.
She kept vomiting, which continued on their return to the UK, but doctors thought she had gastroenteritis so prescribed antibiotics. Daisy-May began reception class at primary school but became ill with swollen eyes and exhaustion.
“She never complained, despite going back and forth to the doctors. However, on picking her up from school one day she complained that her legs hurt even though it was only a 50 metre walk to the car.”
She was on her fourth set of antibiotics, but nobody had carried out blood tests.
“Something wasn’t right,” Sheldon said, “so we took her to hospital where they ran three lots of tests. The doctors were on the phone to specialists checking and re checking. We had no clue what was going on.”
Things then moved fast. Daisy-May was blue lighted by ambulance to the Evelina specialist children’s centre at Guys Hospital at 2am, where, within 24 hours, she had surgery for a dialysis tube to be fitted.
“She had stage 5 kidney failure; it was such a shock.”
She also developed a hole in her heart from the pressure of toxins building up in her little body.
Dialysis began instantly and she remained in hospital for three weeks.
“Hayley was heavily pregnant at the time with our second daughter Lily, and as a man, I withheld my emotions to stay strong for them. I don’t think I properly processed it at the time.”
The couple discovered that Daisy-May had kidney problems from birth and had probably lived so well thanks to a healthy diet, including her favourite meal of salmon, broccoli, and rice. Also, she only drank water.
“I was a bit of a gym bunny, so we all ate healthily,” Sheldon said. “Turns out that probably kept her going.”
After dialysing for over a year, the family suffered a blip when Daisy-May got an infection inside her dialysis tube, so she switched to haemodialysis, travelling from their home in Woburn Sands to London three time a week for treatment.
Her kidney transplant, scheduled for April 2020, was postponed due to Covid.
Dad Sheldon was originally set to go forward in the paired donor scheme, but when the number of these transplants were scaled down due to the pandemic, mum Hayley stepped forward as a perfect match.
“Hayley was going to save her kidney for if Daisy-May needs a transplant later in life, but due to Covid we changed our plans.”
Hayley and Daisy-May went into hospital wards alone on December 22, 2020, with no family support or visitors due to restrictions.
This was followed by a distressing month of isolation as they waited for Daisy-May to be allowed home.
“It was tough. The reunion after our family had isolated from each other for a month was emotional to say the least,” Sheldon said. “There were hugs and tears.”
The experience has created one tough little cookie with a big heart.
“She’s a strong personality who likes asking questions,” says her proud dad. “She’ll always ask the nurse how her creatinine levels are doing!
“Daisy-May is doing really well, but I don’t want anybody else to go through what we have.”
Trainee teacher Mark is grateful for the life-saving kidney transplant from his brother that put him back on track for life and his career.
ReadMy donor gave me a life to live for. I have done things I had never considered doing whilst on dialysis.
Read"If I had another kidney to spare, I would donate in a heartbeat. It was life changing for my husband, and for me as a person."
ReadDavid is just an average Joe. A motorcycling, 54-year-old father and grandfather. And 6 years ago, he donated one of his kidneys to someone who needed it more than he did.
Read40 years ago, Kathleen donated one of her kidneys to Cheryl, who was just five years old at the time.
Read"Giving a small part of me that I didn’t need to someone else would make little difference in my life, but a huge difference in theirs – it was an easy decision for me to make."
ReadLiz's family struggled at first with her determination to donate her kidney to someone unrelated to her.
Read"I donated a kidney to my dad 10 years ago, aged 25. To me, it was a no brainer."
ReadSarah had seen the life-changing difference donating a kidney could have, and immediately knew it was something she wanted to do.
ReadI would not feel as comfortable in my own skin as I do now if I had not donated my kidney.
ReadPete’s kidney gave me my life back and gave my son Edward a mum with energy and vitality.
ReadWhether you’ve already decided to donate a kidney, or you are interested in finding out more about the process and what it involves, we’re here to answer any questions you might have.
