Mauchline Young Farmers Club (YFC) is honouring their friend and member who has recently undergone a life-changing kidney transplant at Crosshouse Hospital by fundraising for the renal unit which helped him on his road to recovery.
Tom Howat, of Ochiltree, started receiving dialysis at the John Lynch Renal Unit at Crosshouse in October – a procedure which brought him back to full health and mobility after an extremely difficult period of illness.
The 22-year-old describes the nurses at the renal unit as “out of this world” and so, along with Mauchline YFC, came up with the step challenge whereby 32 club members, split into eight teams, compete to achieve as many steps as possible.
It is hoped funds raised from the challenge will allow the renal unit to invest in new equipment and resources for the future of dialysis treatment.
Tom explained: “I initially started peritoneal dialysis, the one you do at home, in February but that was just a disaster from the start and by end of May/early June, I was really ill.
“So started haemodialysis from then until I got my transplant on October 11. I was there three days a week for five and a half hours at a time on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
“Because my blood was never a good quality due to lack of dialysis and zero kidney function, my nerves in my feet and legs were damaged and by September I was using crutches and a wheelchair.
“Thankfully now, exactly three months on from the transplant, I’m just about back to full health and I’m walking normally again.”
Tom added: “The nurses at the renal unit were genuinely out of this world with the work they do and how they treated me and all the other patients.
“I’m extremely lucky though as I was only on dialysis for eight months whereas other patients can be there for years and unfortunately, for some, the rest of their lives. That’s the reason I why I wanted to donate to them – to make life a bit better for the staff and patients that are there.”
The club have already raised over £1,000 in just a week, well surpassing their initial target of £500.
Club secretary Rachel Templeton, 23, hopes the fundraiser will also encourage members to keep active and connected during lockdown.
She said: “Members have made up a group chat for it so it’s good that it’s keeping communication going. None of us can meet in person to do anything so it’s really bringing us together. I’m blown away by the generosity of people especially in times like this. ”
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