"If you'd met Isabelle before last year, you’d have seen a happy, healthy nine-year-old who enjoyed being active and creative. Nothing seemed wrong.Abbie, mum to Isabelle
"Over a few weeks, things changed. She was always thirsty, tired, had headaches, and was falling asleep in class. As her mum, I knew something wasn’t right.
"When she developed Bell’s palsy (a weakness of facial muscles), we rushed to hospital. Her blood pressure was high. She was soon in intensive care having tests. That’s when I was told Isabelle had stage 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Please help us support families like Abbie and Isabelle's
"While the medical teams explained what this meant, it was all so new and hard to understand. It was a lot to take in. I'd had nine years of a healthy, happy child, but overnight everything had changed. Now Isabelle needed a kidney transplant.
"In my search for more information, the nurses pointed me to infoKID, a brilliant website that I would have struggled to understand Isabelle’s condition without.
"After diagnosis, Isabelle began taking 16 tablets a day and followed a strict diet, helping to stabilise her blood pressure and kidney function. But in early 2026, things got worse.
"Isabelle’s kidney function plummeted. She was diagnosed with stage 5 CKD (kidney failure) and needed to start dialysis immediately.
CKD is relentless. But Isabelle is incredible with how she approaches it all.
"We weren’t prepared for it, it’s been life changing. Three times a week, we’re up at 5am to travel 80 miles to the nearest children’s renal unit where Isabelle has dialysis for most of the day.
"Even on non-dialysis days there’s always something to manage: medications, appointments, symptoms to monitor. I have to be my daughter’s nurse, something that I never imagined I’d become.
"Because of her dialysis, she can only attend school three days a week, which means she misses out on many things other children enjoy. She has to stay inside at playtime for supervision, and swimming, which she used to love, is no longer possible.
"During her four hours of dialysis, Isabelle plays with her dolls, joins in with the hospital play team, and chats with the dialysis nurses, who always go above and beyond for her. But playing with dolls and being on dialysis shouldn’t go together.
"At the moment we’re preparing for a kidney transplant, although there’s no clear timeline. Many children can wait several years for a transplant, and not knowing is the hardest part, so we just take it day by day.
"Having access to trusted and free information through infoKID has been vital. But it is only one part of what families need after a diagnosis of CKD.
"There are also practical and financial challenges. Travelling to hospital, paying for petrol and parking costs, and trying to balance everything with work is almost impossible."
A donation from you today could be a lifeline for another family like mine, helping Kidney Care UK provide advice or financial support when it’s needed most.
How Kidney Care UK helps
infoKID was essential for helping Abbie to understand Isabelle’s condition, but families also face huge practical and financial pressures.
Kidney Care UK receives no government or NHS funding. Thanks to your donation, we will continue to ensure that families like Abbie and Isabelle's do not have to face kidney disease alone.
- £15 could help us support families to adjust to the challenges of living with kidney disease.
- £35 could help us provide trusted, medically reviewed information to parents.
- £50 could help us offer financial grants to make a real difference to the lives of people with kidney failure.
Need help with your donation?
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01420 541424 (between 9:30am and 4:30pm Monday-Friday)
