A Hamilton family are taking on a Christmas fundraising challenge as a way of paying forward the kindness of a stranger who donated the gift of life.
Nicola Wood, her husband David and 11-year-old daughter India will be walking and running 12,000 steps a day for 12 days to fund life-saving research.
Joining them remotely will be nine of Nicola’s work colleagues from South Lanarkshire Council, where she has worked in the housing department for 27 years.
The family are getting involved in the Kidney Research UK Step Into Christmas challenge and have timed it to end on December 14, to mark six years since Nicola’s second kidney transplant.
It will also mark the anniversary of her first kidney transplant from husband David, which took place on December 15, 2005.
“This event is the perfect way to celebrate my kidney transplants – one on December 14 and one on December 15,” Nicola said.
“My first transplant from David was fine at first and then began slowly declining. It showed signs of rejection, then failed quite quickly.”
Nicola then had hospital dialysis for five years, alongside working full-time.
She had just started home dialysis when she received the call saying there was a kidney donor match.
Nicola added: “The difference is incredible. It means I can now keep up with my young daughter with her energy. Before the second transplant, I was either on dialysis, working, or in bed sleeping, all since India was about five years old. It was tough for the whole family.”
Now, Nicola gets involved in all sorts of activities, including white-water rafting, bungee jumping and climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for Kidney Research UK. The latest one is the Step Into Christmas challenge.
Marc Shaw, head of community and events at Kidney Research UK, said: “Thank you to the Wood family and to the amazing team who work with Nicola at South Lanarkshire Council, for joining us to Step into Christmas for us this December.
“This year has been hard for everyone, and we’re grateful for supporters like Nicola, her family and work team for their fantastic commitment to helping us fight to end kidney disease.
“Step into Christmas is our new campaign and we’re asking everyone to complete 12,000 steps for 12 days, host a Christmas quiz or join us on Christmas Jumper Day. Anyone, anywhere can join in, we can’t wait to see how everyone gets on.”
Find out more about and sign up at kidneyresearchuk.org/fundraising-events/step-into-christmas
