Pontefract kidney transplantee steps out to raise funds for charity

A survivor of two kidney transplants is joining a charity’s ‘Step into Christmas’ challenge, as a big thank you for the research that made his transplants possible.

Construction project manager Gavin Jewitt is walking 12,000 steps a day for 12 days to fund life-saving research by Kidney Research UK.

The 37-year old had one kidney transplant from his late mum Sharon and a second last year from partner Tanya Lynch.

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Gavin said: “When I saw this challenge of 12,000 steps a day for 12 days, I loved the idea of walking a bit further with our dogs while supporting a cause close to my heart.”

He walks with French bulldogs Coco and Hugo around his home village of Brotherton, near Pontefract, where he works from home.

His first kidney transplant, from his late mum Sharon in 2007, lasted 11 years.

“Mum was only five feet tall on her tip toes, bless her, but despite being so tiny her kidney was powerful enough to keep me going until I got a chest infection that then developed into pneumonia in 2018,” Gavin said.

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“The infection decimated the kidney. So, I was back on dialysis and needing another transplant.”

Luckily, his partner Tanya was a perfect match and his second transplant went ahead last summer.

“The difference is hard to describe. We are chuffed to bits.

“To find a partner match and see it work so well is amazing. I feel very lucky.”

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Gavin has Henock-Schonlein purpura which was picked up following a routine army medical when he was 18 years old, then the condition was diagnosed by St James Hospital in Leeds.

To join Gavin in the Step Into Christmas campaign, or to use the Kidney Research UK Christmas quiz visit: https://kidneyresearchuk.org/fundraising-events/step-into-christmas/.

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