Sarah Hislop, 35, is seeking a kidney donor after falling ill in March
Sarah Hislop, from North Shields, is seeking a kidney donor
(L-R) Tia, Sarah and Rhys(Image: Sarah Hislop)
A Tyneside mother-of-two is desperately seeking a kidney donor so she can live longer and watch her “babies grow up”. Sarah Hislop woke up to find her lips, fingers and toes had turned blue around two weeks after returning from a holiday to Egypt.
She says after falling ill she was rushed to hospital in extreme pain where she was told she had multiple organ failure due to a serious infection. Weeks later, Sarah, from North Shields, remains in hospital and is undergoing kidney dialysis, but is now in need of a donor.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, Sarah, who fell ill in March, said: “I went to bed one night about two weeks after a holiday to Egypt and woke up in the middle of the night as my lips had turned blue. The next morning my friend Amy came to sit with me because I was really unwell.
“My lips, fingertips and toes were blue so she rang for an ambulance. I [was told] I had multiple organ failure through a serious infection and we’re still unsure as to where that’s come from.”
Sarah Hislop, from North Shields, is seeking a kidney donor(Image: Sarah Hislop)
The 35-year-old continued: “It came on so sudden, I had gone to bed and within about four to five hours I was curled up in pain and we didn’t know what was wrong. I started blacking out. If Amy had not come round, my son could have found me dead in bed when he came home from school.”
Sarah, who is a mum to 16-year-old Rhys and 12-year-old Tia, says she was taken to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle where her kidneys were found to be “completely dead”. The mum is now on kidney dialysis, and apart from one week when she was able to return home, remains in hospital.
Sarah says that without a live kidney donor, she could potentially have a five-year wait for a dead donor. “I’m not coping with the dialysis at all”, she added.
“I associate the machine with death and pain, [but] it is keeping me alive. I am hoping I can get home soon and wait for my transplant, but at the minute, we are really unsure on that.”
Sarah Hislop and her daughter Tia(Image: Sarah Hislop)
As Sarah continues to receive treatment, she decided to reach out on social media. In a heartfelt post, she told of her need for a kidney transplant and urged potential donors to reach out to her transplant co-ordinator. Her post gained over 180 comments and was shared over 2,000 times.
In the post she said: “I have been rushed forward for a transplant. For anyone who would kindly like to give me a kidney so I can live a longer life and watch my baby’s grow up, you just need to call this number mention my name and I will be eternally grateful for even picking up the phone.”
Sarah’s transplant co-ordinator can be contacted at: tnu-tr.liverenaldonor@nhs.net or by calling 0191 223 1132.
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