A young Co Down family have experienced the kindness of strangers after inspiring hundreds of heartfelt messages and charity donations in support of their fight against kidney disease.
Four-year-old Olly Cartmill and his little sister, Etta, aged two, have an extremely rare genetic condition, which has caused both siblings to suffer kidney failure, a statement said.
Parents Dionne and Neil have spent much of their children’s lives with them in hospital.
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Weighing just 13kg, Olly became the smallest transplant recipient in Northern Ireland at the age of three, when his grandmother, Michelle, donated one of her kidneys just before Christmas in 2023. Now Olly is hoping his little sister will get a transplant of her own, as she continues to receive life-saving dialysis treatment in Belfast, four days a week.
Kidney Research UK said: "Over 1,000 children in the UK are living with various forms of kidney disease, and the family have fronted this year’s Kidney Research UK Christmas appeal to raise awareness of the impact of the disease on young lives, and how the demands of treatments such as dialysis, can make Christmas a difficult time for families. Since sharing their story, the Cartmills have been uplifted by receiving hundreds of kind messages and knowing that donations have been made to the charity in response."
Olly and Etta's mum Dionne said: “Since Olly was born, we’ve met so many families living with kidney disease. It is awful to see so many young ones suffer. It has been hard on us all and dialysis is a cruel treatment. It’s exhausting and forces you to spend several hours connected to a machine, multiple times a week. Olly and Etta have missed countless milestones compared to other children their age.
“Olly’s transplant was daunting but has made an amazing difference. Before, we couldn’t get two words out of him, now he’s a motormouth! He can eat and drink more freely and has the energy to enjoy life. Sadly, Etta still spends more time in hospital than at home.”
As well as receiving dialysis, Etta is also dependent on blood transfusions because of problems with her liver. At just two-years-old, she needs two transplants – a new kidney and a new liver.
Dionne said: “We were thrilled when Etta was born but, by the second day of her life, her kidneys had already failed. She’s dealt with so much, feeding through a tube, having countless procedures and receiving relentless treatments.
“Olly and Etta are best friends, and Olly, like all of us, is desperate for his little sister to get her transplants soon. His transplant was made possible by breakthroughs in research and it’s important to us to help fund future advances in healthcare for children, like Etta, who are still waiting for their lives to be transformed.
“It means the world to me and my family knowing that people are giving to Kidney Research UK. It gives us hope that there’ll be new treatment options for Olly and Etta as they grow up and is the light at the end of a long tunnel. There are so many research questions yet to be answered that could improve lives pre and post-transplant."
Lucy Sreeves, executive director at Kidney Research UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Dionne and Neil for sharing their family’s reality of living with kidney disease. They continue to inspire us with their resilience and determination to help others in the face of Olly and Etta’s difficulties. The research they and their well-wishers are supporting will help to save more lives from being devastated by kidney disease in the future. We appreciate every penny people are able to spare to give the gift of research this Christmas.”
To make a donation to Kidney Research UK’s Christmas appeal, visit: www.kidneyresearchuk.org/ollyandetta.
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