Prior to the diagnosis, Candice had been feeling constantly tired, despite being intentional with having early nights and eating healthily.
After discussing how she was feeling with her Mum, Candice booked an appointment with her GP to request for a blood test. Candice recalls “The doctor called me whilst I was at work with my results. I was told I needed to go to the local hospital immediately, for further tests.”
Hospital consultants carried out an ultrasound and biopsy. A few weeks later Candice was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy.
In 2022 Candice was diagnosed with kidney failure, and as part of her ongoing treatment, she started dialysis. As Candice has very small veins, it was decided that she should start peritoneal dialysis, (daily dialysis which is managed at home), rather than haemodialysis; the most common type of dialysis which patients receive at a dialysis centre or hospital 3-4 times a week.
Candice administers on herself four fluid exchanges a day, every four hours. As a result, this treatment made it impossible for Candice to continue working as an Events Producer, forcing her to change her profession. Doing dialysis four times a day also makes it difficult for Candice to make plans that take her far away from home, as she would have to return home to do dialysis or carry heavy fluid around with her to do it on the go.
In January 2022, hospital consultants added Candice to the NHS Organ Transplant Waiting List, however, just over a year on, she is still without a matched kidney donor.
In a bid to maintain their daughter’s life, both Candice’s parents, aged 64, have been tested to see if they are a match, however, it was confirmed that they are too old and that a younger donor would be preferred.
Candice is of African and Jamaican heritage and is encouraging members of the Black community to do three things: record their organ donation decision, share their decision with family members and consider becoming a living kidney donor.
Candice says “Black Lives Matter, please help save a Black life. It takes two minutes to register your organ donation decision online. Speak to your family about your decision and about medical conditions within the family. If you are aware of what could potentially affect you, you can put prevention methods in place to potentially avoid heartache in the future. I appreciate that it’s not an easy decision to become a living kidney donor, but you really are giving someone the gift of life if you do.”
Please visit our Living kidney donation page to find out more information on becoming a living kidney donor.