Barry: 'A stranger I met at the beach gave me her kidney'

Lucy Humphrey perchance lone had a fewer years to unrecorded erstwhile she took a travel to the formation with her spouse and 2 dogs.

But acknowledgment to a accidental brushwood with a alien "chosen" by 1 of her pets, her beingness was saved.

After surviving with lupus - a information which causes inflammation to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and joints - for much than a decennary and a half, her kidneys failed.

Despite dialysis, successful 2019 she was told she mightiness lone person 5 years to unrecorded without a transplant.

Shortly earlier that, Lucy, 44, and her spouse Cenydd Owen, 49, some from Caerphilly, bought a campervan to instrumentality the dogs, 2 Dobermans named Jake and Indie, distant connected the weekend, but their plans to usage it were enactment connected clasp by treatment.

They had planned a two-day interruption to Aberystwyth successful June 2021 - four-and-a-half years aft Lucy's kidney nonaccomplishment - but she was excessively unwell to question that far.

They decided to spell to Cold Knap formation successful Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, instead.

Lucy and Cenydd parked their campervan overlooking the formation and acceptable themselves up with a barbecue with their dogs.

"Indie kept going implicit to this pistillate astir 100 yards away," Lucy said.

"She kept going backmost and guardant to her and we kept calling her back, due to the fact that evidently a large Doberman tin beryllium a small spot intimidating.

"We thought she had nutrient oregon thing and Cenydd kept calling her back. In the extremity we went implicit to apologise to her."

The alien was Katie James, a 40-year-old, from Barry.

She was sat astatine the formation crocheting and it turned retired she didn't caput Indie going implicit to "talk to her".

"She was really having rather a atrocious clip herself, truthful I invited her to our barbecue," said Lucy.

"She came over, bought immoderate portion implicit with her, and offered maine some.

"Cenydd explained that I couldn't portion arsenic I was connected dialysis. She was similar 'oh what's that for', and helium said she's waiting for a kidney transplant."

Surprised, Katie explained: "Oh I've conscionable gone connected the kidney donation register!"

"Who are you going to donate your kidney to?" asked Cenydd.

"Anyone who wants it," Katie replied.

Katie and Lucy swapped numbers and contacted a donor coordinator the adjacent day.

"She had each the tests and it turned retired she was a cleanable match," said Lucy.

"A surgeon told america it's a 1 successful 22 cardinal accidental to find the cleanable match, and that's what I needed arsenic I've got Lupus.

"The transplant took a small while, arsenic Covid was going connected astatine the time, truthful it kept being postponed."

In the pb up, Katie acceptable up a radical connected WhatsApp called The Kidney Gang.

"All her visits to the infirmary she was updating america and sending recorded messages and pictures," said Cenydd.

"I've inactive got each the recordings and however excited she was that she was doing thing good. It's conscionable huffy a full alien and Lucy's got her beingness back.

"For the past 5 years, she couldn't portion thing and she was restricted connected what she could eat. Now, she tin devour and portion what she likes and we're starting to get our beingness backmost to normal."

Despite complications successful the archetypal weeks afterwards, Lucy said the transplant, which took spot connected 3 October 2022 astatine University Hospital of Wales successful Cardiff, was a success.

"We went successful unneurotic connected the Sunday, and connected the Monday greeting they took america down, took my kidney out, popped it into Lucy and Bob's your uncle," said Katie.

"I consciousness truly fortunate that I got to cognize Lucy, I cognize that its worked and I cognize that she's retired determination surviving her life. To me, there's been nary antagonistic to it whatsoever.

"I consciousness truly arrogant of myself, I get embarrassed sometimes though arsenic each clip I'm retired with my nan she volition archer a alien 'oh my granddaughter donated a kidney'.

"It's the champion happening I've ever done and I consciousness truthful arrogant of myself and my household are arrogant of me."

"It was the information that Indie astir sussed her retired and chose her," said Lucy.

"They did archer maine a fewer years backmost I lone had astir 5 years, dialysis doesn't enactment forever, and you tin lone person truthful galore entree lines enactment successful arsenic well.

"I truly needed this transplant, I'd been connected the waiting database for respective years. It's wholly changed my beingness already."

Cenydd described Katie arsenic a "wonderful, selfless person".

However, helium said: "She doesn't similar my jokes, and said if I don't halt telling her jokes, she wants her kidney back. She ne'er signed up for my jokes.

"We ended up going to Barry by full chance, gathering Katie by full chance, and Lucy's ended up with a kidney.

"We privation to amusement that determination is ever anticipation for people. Never springiness in, due to the fact that you ne'er know, we weren't adjacent going to spell to the formation that day. There's a batch of bully radical retired there."