Man's world comes crashing down when these three symptoms led to diagnosis

07 February 2024 , 17:20

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Jason Lamb was thrilled to learn his partner was pregnant (Image: Jason Lamb)

A man's world came crashing down when his common symptoms led to a devastating diagnosis.

Jason Lamb was thrilled to learn his partner Claire was pregnant, but his joy was shattered after he started to get cramps, was regularly thirsty and always tired. He began coughing up blood and visited Whiston Hospital in Liverpool just weeks after discovering about his partner's pregnancy test. But doctors told Jason, from St Helens, his kidneys were failing and only working at three per cent capacity.

He said: "It was a shock, my brother had been diagnosed three months before me. We had our genetics tested but it's not hereditary so it's come out of the blue, my world came crashing down." He started PD dialysis but the treatment failed and his health changed for the worse.

Jason Lamb and partner Claire found out they were pregnant with son Jenson just weeks before Jason's diagnosis (Jason Lamb)

Jason on dialysis after his devastating diagnosis (Jason Lamb)

Jason, who welcomed son Jenson in June 2022, told the LiverpoolEcho: "I couldn't even walk up the stairs. I started on hemodialysis and they managed to get 22kg of fluid off my body. But I'm in desperate need of a kidney."

Although on the transplant list, Jason is desperately appealing for people to come forward and get tested to see if they are a match to donate the vital organ. He said: "I'm on the transplant list for deceased donors but I'm only 28 and the doctors told me it was important to try and get a transplant from a living donor. I've been on the list for over two years now and it could be any time, long or short. But if I can get a living donor it could last longer, I'll probably need two or three transplants in my life.

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"There's no pressure for anyone to go ahead and donate a kidney, they can just call up and get more information about the process. The whole journey has been a roller coaster. My son is the only reason I get out of bed some days, he's kept me distracted. All of his life I've been on dialysis and it is hard. We can't go on holiday, I can't stay away from the house for too long because I'm on dialysis at home and I need to do it three hours a day for four hours a week."

Jason appealed on social media for people to come forward and be tested and has been met with an incredible response. Partner Claire added: "We don't want our son to grow up without a dad, it was a massive shock. When I found out I was pregnant, no one knew. Five days before my grandad died and then we found out Jason had kidney failure, it was a huge shock. It's been a whirlwind. You never think it's going to happen to you, I just wish someone could come forward and help. Even if you can't save him, you may be able to save someone else."

Writing on his social media, Jason added: "As much as I am grateful for dialysis as it’s keeping me alive, it only lasts 5-10 years. My son is now 20 months old and I am doing this all for him. I know it’s a big ask, but he needs his dad. So if you made it to the end of this post thank you for reading and please could you share far and wide in the hope that someone out there will come forward to donate a kidney for me. Absolutely no pressure at all, but if you would be interested in donating please give me a message and I will tell you how to go about getting tested."

Graeme Murray