A dad saved his daughter by donating a kidney after her organ function plummeted to just four percent. And three years later, he was able to proudly walk her down the aisle.
Kathryn Croker was 12 when she was diagnosed with Henoch Schonlein Purpura in 1998. The condition affects the blood vessels that can lead to kidney complications.
The schoolgirl was bedbound for eight weeks and suffered pain across her whole body. By the December, Kathryn thought she was finally feeling a little better.
But tests the following month showed her kidneys had failed and she was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London in an ambulance. Thankfully, after various treatments she was able to live a normal life.
She did her GCSEs, A-Levels and went to Sheffield Hallam University to study early childhood studies in 2004. Then in 2011, her health started to deteriorate.
She was in and out of hospital with chest infections and her function dropped to a frightening four percent. It was then doctors told her she'd need a kidney transplant to save her life.
Kevin, 67, a retired contracts manager, and mum, Anne, 63, were relieved to discover they were both a match. “It was amazing they were both a match, but we thought it would be down to the hospital to choose," said Kathryn.
"It was a tough decision to have to make. I don't know why but I always thought my mum would be the one to donate her kidney, but my dad really wanted to do it and he never moaned about it. All the way through he told me not to worry but it was a surreal situation.”
In May 2013, Kevin gave his daughter the gift of life through his left kidney. She said: “I remember being wheeled back onto the transplant ward and seeing my dad in the first bay on the right and the nurse said: 'Your dad’s in there.'
“They stopped me outside of the bay and gave me a nice wave. It was such a lovely moment.”
The pair underwent the transplant at Leicester General Hospital and it was hailed a success. Kevin then walked Kathryn down the aisle to marry her partner, Luke, 35, a data cabling engineer, in August 2017.
It "wouldn't have happened" as she "wouldn't be here" without the transplant," she said. Now 36, Kathryn from Desborough, Northamptonshire, said: “My dad and I have always been so close and it's been so nice for him to see how much my life has changed for the better since the transplant."
Recalling her wedding, she said: "It was really emotional. We got to the door of the church and dad turned to look at me and said, ‘I think someone is going to cry’.
He gave a speech and there were a lot of happy tears. He spoke about me growing up and everyone there knew what we had been through.
“We’ve always been close and had a special bond - now I have his kidney and we feel even closer. Now I sign Father’s Day and birthday cards from Kathryn, Luke and your left kidney.”
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Kathryn had to shield, and her husband moved out to live with friends as he was so frightened of giving his wife the virus.“I didn’t even go into the garden for 10 weeks it was very scary," said Kathryn.
“May 2022 was the first time I ate out for two years because I was so anxious. I had covid last month but luckily, they treated me with an antibody infusion to stop the virus attacking all of my cells.
"The pandemic has been extremely difficult on transplant patients but I'm looking forward to getting back to normal."
