There are those in life who have achieved the extraordinary against difficult odds and 25-year-old Kate Kenyon is no exception. The inspiring young woman from Aberdeenshire has a truly remarkable story of personal strength and resilience during her fight against kidney failure.

Hailing from a small holding in Turiff, Kate grew up surrounded by farming livestock enjoying the outdoors, however, her childhood was greatly shadowed by an event that took place a month before her third birthday. Kate was admitted to hospital on May 19,1995 with stomach ache and after a misdiagnosis she was taken to A&E three days later quickly to be identified as suffering the symptoms of E.Coli.

Kate had contracted a strain of E.Coli 0157 from her farm which led to kidney failure and she spent the next four years of her life undergoing peritoneal dialysis; where for eight hours daily and seven days a week she was hooked up to a machine which removed toxins from her body. Kate has a rare O negative bloody type which added to the complexity of finding a donor but luckily four years later her mother was found to be a perfect match and on the 13 January, 2000 Kate underwent a kidney transplant which would change her life and free her from hospital dependence.

At age seven Kate took to the kidney straight away and went on to live a mostly normal life for the next 12 years playing sport, going out with friends and laterally starting college.

“I did everything a normal kid would do and my parents were extraordinary, they never let me feel sorry for myself and never wrapped me in cotton wool, without then I would have been a wreck.”

However, as is the case with many kidney transplant patients, complexities can arise and when she turned 19 her body began to reject the kidney. Kate spent six weeks in hospital where she was given rituximab, an amino suppressive drug associated with cancer patients which proceeded to impact on her life for the next two and a half years where she suffered from meningococcal meningitis and pneumonia amongst other illnesses. All of this while she received haemodialysis three times a week for four years.

Despite medical setbacks leading to Kate failing her second year of college, she never let this curb her dreams to continue studying and live as close to a normal life as her other friends. Six months after her hospital admission in January 2012 she began studying communications and public relations at Robert Gordon’s University (RHU)where she lived life to the full enjoying her course, working part time in a nightclub and for a marketing business development company. Kate was also the student ambassador for RGU in her first year at University and went on to work with the international student’s team welcoming new students from abroad. Over the next four years Kate missed many university deadlines and exams with health issues and often spent her summers catching up on most of her university work and retaking years she had failed.

Due to a chronic shortage in NHS kidney staff, Kate made the decision in 2015 to learn to self-medicate her dialysis.

“We have always had great nurses in the kidney dialysis ward, often becoming close friends, you are with them so much. However, lack of staff meant that I decided to do dialysis on my own so I moved myself to the self-care unit and learnt to use the needles myself and clean the machine down after use, like having home diagnosis.”

On 26 January 2016, Kate received a phone call to tell her a kidney match had been found and she made her way to Edinburgh to undergo immediate surgery. Five days post operation it was found Kate’s immune system was too strong to accept the kidney and she was put on anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) an infusion of antibodies used in the prevention and treatment of acute rejection in organ transplantation. Acting as a harsh renal suppressive her body became so weak it eventually accepted the kidney however it meant she had to be extremely careful to avoid public gatherings and outings in the coming months.

“If I’m not around people at least three/four times a week I get in to a slump and from March 2016 until February 2017 I was in an awful place, on a low point due to my medication and my body went through such dramatic changes. I suffered from depression until around September 2016.” Kate told the Scottish Farmer.

Despite years of medical setbacks an incredibly resilient Kate remained positive, becoming a strong voice and ambassador for young people suffering from kidney failure. This Summer she competed on behalf of Kidney Research UK at the British Transplant Championships in Motherwell where she took Gold in the long jump and silver in the 100m sprint at the end of July. The five-day event saw 400 competitors who have all undergone transplant surgery compete across a wide range of disciplines including archery, darts, swimming, tennis and athletics to mention a few.

Kate reflected on the games: “I forgot how much of a team spirit there is and you are able to meet people who have gone through similar experiences and they understand what you are going through. It is so inspiring as you meet people there at different stages of their transplant and you hope if you keep healthy, yours will last that long.”

Sharing her story has given others the strength to cope with their own kidney complications and Kate is now an active member of a lobby group for Kidney Research UK where she hopes to raise awareness of kidney failure to the Scottish government and issues such as the lack of staffing. She is also the chair of the Grampian kidney patient’s association which is a charity for people with renal failure in the North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland and she’ll be giving talks about her own personal experience at upcoming meetings such as the national kidney federation on the 13 October.

Kates father Peter Kenyon, chairman of leading UK feed manufacturer Harbro has been an incredible support in raising awareness and support for kidney failure. To mark Harbro’s 40th year in business, numerous fundraising activities led to over £131,128 being raised, which has been divided amongst different initiatives, including that of Kidney Kids Scotland. As a family, the Kenyon’s are making a huge impact in shaping the futures of those suffering from kidney failure in the UK and raising the profile of a an illness which doesn’t always receive the necessary attention.

Through all of the ups and downs in Kate’s life she has acted with such a level of humility that will inspire many people in years to come who will face similar battles. As Kate goes on to begin a new exciting year at RGU this September where she commences her master’s year in International marketing, she will continue to be an incredible testimony to others, who will look to her for strength and admire her for the great energy and positivity she has invested in to leading a full if not always healthy life.