A woman is marking the 25th anniversary of her kidney transplant with a series of charity races.
Ann Garnett, 42, will be running the Great North Run, the Baker Hughes 10k and the Isle of Coll half marathon on behalf of the organ donor who saved her life.
As a teenager, Mrs Garnett suffered from a disease called vasculitis, which damaged her blood vessels and immune system.
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At just 17-years-old she was rushed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to be treated after her kidneys stopped working, and her cells confused the organs for a foreign body.
At the time, she was one of the hospital’s youngest ever patients to get dialysis treatment, and received new kidneys on May 18 1994, in an operation that saved her life.
Now, 25 years later, the medical receptionist wants to honour that donation and raise funds for charity.
Ms Garnett, who now lives in Insch, said: “I was just 14 when the GP figured something was wrong with my kidneys and diagnosed vasculitis.
“The condition calmed down, until I was 17 and required a transplant.
“I don’t know very much about my donor at all. I know his name was Ian, he was from Bristol and that he died in a car accident.
“But because he was registered to have his organs donated, he saved my life.
“I thought to mark 25 years it might be nice to do something in memory of Ian, and also to raise some money for charity.”
To mark this occasion the 42-year-old has decided to take part in the Great North Run, the Baker Hughes 10k and a half marathon on the Isle of Coll.
She will be raising money for Vasculitis UK, a charity which supports those suffering from the disease and works to improve recognition, diagnosis and treatment of the condition.
For #CharityTuesday help us raise awareness of #VasculitisUK @vascuk supporting all those diagnosed with #vasculitis #RareDisease https://t.co/KG1C2JRddO pic.twitter.com/BetBw75xJO
— John@Vasculitis UK (@vascuk) February 19, 2019
Mrs Garret competed in the Balmoral 10k four years ago but had to walk the majority of the distance due to a leg injury.
This time round, she hopes to run as much as she can, despite still being in recovery from a major operation.
Last October, Mrs Garret was found to have a cancerous tumour, which was then removed in December.
She will be returning to work, at the Fyvie Oldmeldrum Medical Group, next week and hopes to begin her training for the races soon.
She said: “Due to the tumour I’ve not had a chance to do proper exercise since last summer.
“Its going to be a long road to running the half marathon but 25 years is a major milestone and I’m excited to do this on behalf of Ian.
“The medical procedure sounding transplants has changed so much since I got one in 1994, but it is still just as important to register on the organ donation list.”
To donate to Mrs Garret’s fundraiser, search Ann Garnett on JustGiving.com or click here.
