A young student who almost died from sepsis is now desperately searching for a kidney donor to save her life.
Kristin Hamill, from Greenock, became seriously ill last June after she was struck down by a mystery virus. The deadly infection caused severe damage to her kidneys and liver, leaving the 25-year-old in intensive care for almost five months.
Almost a year on, Kristin is receiving dialysis treatment four times a week. But with medics unable to do anything more to save her kidneys, she is now in a race against time for a donor to help her get her life back on track.
Speaking to the Record, Kristin said: "I went from being young, fit and healthy to not being able to do anything for myself. It was terrifying.
"I'm constantly tired and sick everyday. There's not much I can do on my own and I'm not allowed to be by myself. I rely on my mum and my boyfriend for everything."
Kristin was just 12 weeks away from qualifying as a paediatric nurse when she first started suffering from extreme abdominal pain in April 2022. She spent the next two months going back and forth to her GP, but on June 28, her health took an alarming turn when she woke up with slurred speech and blue lips before vomiting blood.
Her GP later arrived at her home and immediately ordered for her to be taken to hospital. Kristin's mum rushed her to Inverclyde Royal where she was diagnosed with sepsis, with doctors left fearing the worst.
Her terrified family were then asked to gather to prepare to say their final goodbyes.
Thankfully, medics were able to stabilise Kristin condition enough for surgery to stop the bleeding in her stomach. She was then transferred to Queen Elizabeth hospital in Glasgow, where she spent four and a half months the in high dependency renal unit.
During this time she was started on dialysis and had several blood fusions. She was unable to walk or eat and was fed through nasal gastric tube.
Kristin was eventually discharged in October and to this day, doctors still don't know what caused her sepsis, despite countless tests and scans.
In December, the young student nurse was given the crushing news that her kidneys would not recover and a transplant is her only hope.
A number of Kristin's friends and family have signed up to be tested as possible donors, but while faced with a lengthy wait on the transplant list, Kristin also decided to post a Facebook appeal searching for a match and has been overwhelmed by support as over 200 people came forward to be considered as a possible match.
She added: "It's insane that complete strangers would offer something like this. It's so overwhelming. You don't realise how supportive a community is until something like this happens.
"Every time I get a message through, me and my family are in tears and taken aback by how kind people are."
Kristen has been told she may also be facing a liver transplant in the future, but said she is taking things one step at a time while she stays focused on finding a kidney donor.
She continued: "Doctors are hoping that my liver will repair on its own. It's scary, but right not I'm just focusing on getting a new kidney.
"A new kidney would give me my life back. I'd be able to go on and have children, go on holidays and just get to be a normal 25-year-old again.
"But above all else I'm just desperate to get back to nursing - I love my job so much and it's the one thing I really want to get back."
Kristin has also set up a fundraiser for the Inverclyde Royal hospital Dialysis Unit and Renal ward 4A at QEUH. She said: "I went through the most horrendous situation made so much easier by all the hospital staff. They are absolute angels and the ones who continue to keep me alive everyday."
On Friday, Kristin told The Record: "The transplant team have requested that no more forms are submitted for testing for a match for a kidney. I cannot thank this community enough for their sheer kindness and love and support in raising so much awareness."
If you would still like to consider donating a kidney as an aultruistic donor (another stranger) please contact your local transplant team."
To donate to Kristin's fundraiser, click here.
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