Mum and Me for Steve

Mum and Me for Steve

Meet parent 2 of 4.

In 2019, an acutely ambitious vascular surgeon was about to amputate his lower leg from the knee down.

Parent 2 of 4 has type 1 diabetes as a ruinous result of being booted in the abdomen in the seventies when he was a Bobby on the beat.

Long term consequential co-morbidities of Diabetes are neuropathy, which reduces the function of the peripheral vascular system; and kidney failure.

In 2019, I saved his leg. He had a not inconsiderable infection in his second toe, which was unresponsive to IV antibiotx due to vascular failure. I worked intensively for seven days to increase vascular function to his lower leg, whilst the surgeon reassured parents 1 and 2 of 4 that exercise “wasn’t evidence based.”

After a week of prescriptive lower limb exercise, the surgeon removed the second toe.

Parent 2 remains bipedal.

This year, he has reached rather unsexy stage 5 kidney failure and dialysis was administered for the first time a few months ago.

He and my mum are trying to adapt to an unwelcome, sudden static subsistence which sees them in Doncaster Royal Infirmary every other day for Steve’s dialysis.

I once spoke to the renal unit and asked if I could be tested to dispatch a donor kidney of my own (because colonialising a couple of kidneys that I could do with 50% less of, just seems inconsiderate). 

They don’t give donor organs from the register to old people. There simply aren’t enough donor organs, and the only fair method of distribution and management of partial cadaver contributions is by youngest recipient first. 

Anyway. I was told he wouldn’t the survive the anaesthetic, let alone a transplant.

So I remain with twice the amount of kidneys I will ever really need; and emotionally impotent.

It requires radical acceptance when you realise you can’t help someone any more, doesn’t it?

Except me and parent 1 of 4 (mummy Sheila Looker) are abseiling over the top of the Doncaster Royal Infirmary on September 20th to raise funds for the teaching hospital, without which, Steve simply wouldn’t be here. 

So sponsor us. 

Fund the research we all will all inevitably rely on when our bodies fail us. 

If you’re not on the donor register, please change that now. 

And follow red rehab in case someone tells you they’re about to abduct 50% of one of your legs.