A lorry driver from Swansea will be taking on the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K to thank his mum for donating her kidney.
James Murphy, 39, will also be running to raise awareness of kidney disease – a condition he was diagnosed with eight years ago.
He said: “At the time the diagnosis seemed really sudden but looking back I realised how long I’d been deteriorating for.
“My family had been mentioning that I was losing colour and weight – but it’s something you don’t realise in yourself when you look in the mirror every day. I was feeling very tired too but just put it down to getting older and having kids. Still, I thought I better get myself checked out.”
Blood tests at the hospital revealed that James had kidney disease and his kidney function was just 4%. He immediately started dialysis treatment at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
James said: “It was a real shock and hit me like a ton of bricks – I’d never heard of this before and now it was becoming my reality. I thought it would just be a little bit of treatment and then I’d be done, I didn’t realise I’d need to have this treatment for months.”
The doctors also discovered that James’ kidneys were quite small and that he’d need to have a transplant.
The father-of-three said: “It’s not a quick process at all. I was on dialysis for 18 months, but I was lucky in that both my mother and brother put themselves forward to be tested to see if they’d be a good match for me.
“Blood tests showed they were both suitable donors, but my mother stamped her authority and was adamant she’d give me one of hers.
“Of course, I was worried about my mum and I said I was fine to go on the transplant list and wait but she said there was no way I was going to talk her out of it. She said if my children were in this position I’d be doing the same, and I could understand where she was coming from.”
It wasn’t until November 2018 that everything was in place for James to receive the kidney from his mum, Kathryn, 65. By this time his condition had changed from acute to chronic.
He said: “I was excited to get it done and try and go back to normal, but I was nervous for myself and my mother. You can put yourself through all these months of waiting and tests and they could take the kidney out and my body might reject it.
“Thankfully my body hasn’t done that so far but there’s no telling how long the kidney will last. I just need to take each day as it comes.”
James continues to be checked every three months and takes anti-rejection medication every 12 hour alongside blood pressure tablets and lots of fluids to help keep his kidneys healthy.
“I just try to look after them as best I can,” said James.
He added: “After the transplant I joined the Wales Transplant Football Team and competed in the Transplant Games and captained the team in the European and World cups – it’s taken me to a lot of places.
“It’s a real community of people who have gone through something similar and shows that transplant isn’t the end. You can still live a normal life and push yourself to do hard things.”
He then took up running and decided to run the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K on Sunday 7 September with some of his teammates from his football team.
James said: “Running makes me feel so good. Football was always my first sport but running has taken over. I know my mum will be watching me and seeing what her kidney has allowed me to achieve will bring her extra joy. I’m so thankful for what she’s done for me.”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, said: “It’s incredible to hear how far James has come over the last couple of years thanks to the tremendous gift from his mother. Kidney Wales are the lead charity of the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K and it’s brilliant to see what their research and funding can help achieve. I’m sure they will all be joining us as we celebrate with James as he crosses the finish line in September.”
