A father-of-two is taking on the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K to raise money for Kidney Wales after he helped save his daughter’s life by giving her one of his kidneys.
Gareth Charlton, 49, from Dyffryn Ardudwy in Gwynedd, will now be running the event in the Welsh Capital to raise money and awareness for the charity.
His daughter, Jennie, now 24, first fell ill when she was 17.
Gareth said: “It all happened very suddenly. She was unwell and doctors couldn’t put their finger on what was wrong for a long time until she then became seriously ill. They did a kidney function test and couldn’t believe her results when they came back. She was in complete renal failure and needed to be put on dialysis.
“It was a complete shock. Within a couple of hours of her diagnosis a transplant coordinator came to talk to us to see if anyone could be a donor for Jennie.”
Gareth and his wife, Helen, both got themselves tested. When the results came back, Gareth’s kidney was deemed a better match for Jennie, but it was around 18 months of planning for the transplant to take place.
The trainee train driver said: “We didn’t even think twice. We just needed to do whatever we could to save our daughter. As a parent you go through all kinds of things in your head, but what it ultimately comes down to is, so long as Jennie is OK, that’s the most important thing.”
The transplant took place at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on 11thFebruary 2019. After a couple of setbacks which involved Gareth heading back into theatre for bleeding and a small organ rejection from Jennie, everything was then thankfully fine.
Gareth said: “Jennie has absolutely thrived since. I was out of hospital within four days and Jennie was in for a week as they wanted to keep an eye on her for a little longer. She improved rapidly and the change in her health has been remarkable.”
Within three months, Gareth was also back at work, and Jennie continued to recover, before going back to college and then university.
It wasn’t long before Gareth then became an ambassador for Kidney Wales, helping to raise awareness and funds for the charity, and giving talks to schools and groups.
He said: “Kidney Wales are able to help with so much, especially with the financial side of things, so it’s important to ask to see what is available to you.
“I’ve done lots of challenges for them in the past, including big charity walks, but with Kidney Wales being the lead charity of the CDF 10K, I knew I needed to show my support and take part in this event too.”
The Brecon Carreg CDF 10K takes place on Sunday 1st September. Kidney Wales is once again Lead Charity Partner of the event.
The charity, which does not receive any government funding and relies solely on generous donations, is dedicated to making a tangible difference to the lives of kidney patients in Wales every day. It offers essential guidance and support, funds critical research and provides financial assistance to help alleviate the burdens faced by those with kidney problems, so they can lead their best lives.
Through the incredible fundraising of their runners at the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K, Kidney Wales can help ease some of the financial burden, which is experienced by those in the Kidney Community. For every £10,000 raised, £100 wellbeing food vouchers can be given to 100 kidney patients and £15,000 will help to provide emergency financial support for around 50 patients, helping with things like rent, utility bills and household repairs.
Ross Evans, Kidney Wales Managing Director, said: “We are fortunate to have members of the Kidney Community like Gareth who are volunteering their time to increase awareness of kidney disease and raise vital funds to continue the charities life changing work. Gareth has witnessed the impact the support we are able to offer has on families living with chronic Kidney Disease, we cannot thank him enough for his dedication to representing us at the CDF 10K this year and championing our cause. Diolch Gareth!”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, added: “The runners who take part in our events are such an inspiration and we’re always in awe of their reasons for taking part. Gareth is supporting such a fantastic charity and we can’t wait to cheer him over the finish line in September.”
