When Marc Anderson was a teenager he suffered migraines and headaches regularly.
But the restaurant manager from Anstruther didn’t realise these were an early sign of high blood pressure.
The 25-year-old also had no idea that in a few years time he would end up being diagnosed with kidney disease and having a life-saving transplant from his mum.
Marc, who works at the Tailend in St Andrews, Fife, remembers being very anxious the night before his kidney transplant.
“When I was saying my goodbyes to my mum and the rest of the family, I started having multiple panic attacks.
“I was really panicking about the surgery. I just kept saying: ‘What if I don’t wake up? What if I die on the operating table?’
“All of these thoughts were going through my head because you don’t know what can happen.
“But the next morning when I woke up after the kidney transplant, I felt like a brand new person.
“I gave a big sigh of relief and thought: ‘Ok I didn’t die, thank God I am still here’.”
When did Marc discover he had high blood pressure?
When Marc was 15-years-old he regularly suffered with migraines and headaches.
But it was only when he decided to try out his gran Roz’s high blood pressure kit that he learned he had high blood pressure.
“My gran had a blood pressure cuff and I was trying it on at her house just to be funny,” he explains.
“But the reading was off the scale – it was really high.
“My gran suggested I try it again and the same reading came up so she mentioned it to my mum.
“I ended up going to Ninewells Hospital for tests.
“There was no mention of kidney disease at that point.
“But I was given medication to help lower my blood pressure.”
By the time Marc was 17 he remembers having biopsies taken at a hospital in Glasgow and at Ninewells.
And this was when he was first told there was a problem with his kidney function.
“The biopsies confirmed I had kidney disease,” he recalls.
“But there was no mention of a transplant at this stage.”
When did Marc’s kidneys start failing?
In Christmas 2018, Marc was out with his best friend at a pub.
But the next morning he felt awful after drinking a lot of alcohol.
“I felt that something wasn’t right – it wasn’t just a hangover. I felt so unwell I couldn’t leave my bed.”
In early 2019 Marc learned his kidneys were failing and that he would need to be put on dialysis.
He was aged 19 at the time.
“Things started happening quite quickly and it was quite hard to get my head around it.
“I just kept thinking why me?”
With his kidney function failing and feeling nauseous constantly, Marc admits he didn’t cope well.
“Certain smells made me feel sick. I was off my food. I felt ill.”
Having kidney dialysis at Ninewells
From March 2019 Marc started having dialysis three times a week, for four hours at a time, at Ninewells.
And while the nurses were amazing at lifting everyone’s spirits, the former Waid Academy pupil found the whole experience upsetting.
He says: “All of us were relying on machines to stay alive which made me feel sad.
“I’d go in smiling and come out crying, it made me feel so rough.”
The next stage was to find Marc a kidney donor.
His dad Stuart offered to give his son one of his kidneys, but tests revealed he wasn’t compatible.
So Marc’s mum Julie then got tested.
And it turned out she was a perfect match.
“When I found out that mum was going to give me one of her kidneys, it was such a relief,” Marc says.
“It also meant I had only needed to be on dialysis for two months.”
‘You’ve got the whites of your eyes back again’
In May 2019 Marc had his kidney transplant operation carried out at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
“We had some great doctors and nurses who came round afterwards to check on me and mum.
“One of them said to me: ‘you’ve got the whites of your eyes back again’.
“I asked her what she meant and she said my eyes looked much brighter and were white and pearly again.
“She also said my skin had a glow and that I didn’t look so fatigued.
“Before the operation I had a bit of brain fog and felt shattered.
“But I felt amazing after the transplant.
“Although while I felt on top of the world, my mum was suffering.
“She was in a lot of pain after the operation.”
He adds: “But I was really grateful to her though – without her kidney I wouldn’t be here.”
How has life been for Marc since his kidney transplant?
After a period of recovery, Marc says this year has been the best one he has had since the operation.
“I have felt a bit unstoppable this year – have been on lots of day trips, saw Girls Aloud and Taylor Swift in concert with my best friends.
“I’ve just had so much fun and got much more energy now.”
Marc, who is pescatarian, is also enjoying not having to worry about food restrictions as he is no longer on dialysis.
Experiencing ‘trauma’ after the kidney transplant
Although his kidney transplant was a success, Marc believes he has suffered a form of post-traumatic stress disorder since the operation.
“I experience a bit of trauma with regards to hospital appointments,” he admits.
“I am not an anxious person, but when it comes to hospitals, it’s terrifying.
“There are hospital appointments I have to go to every four or five months. It involves me having a blood test, a bit of chat and then I leave.
“But I am scared to walk back into the hospital in case they turn around and say ‘Marc unfortunately we are back at stage one’.
“That really does terrify me. It’s been so bad I have even missed a few appointments because of it.”
He continues: “To be honest I don’t think I will ever get over that.
“I know one day I will have to go through this again because the kidney I’ve got right now won’t last forever.
“This is why it’s good to raise awareness and hopefully one day we will have a cure for kidney disease.”
Support from family and friends
Marc, who has a younger brother Patrick, has had a lot of support from family and friends throughout his health journey.
“I have a great support network – my friends are like my second family. They know who they are and I love them all.
“They are always saying they will come with me to appointments.
“My mum is good now after the transplant.
“And both her and my dad have been great at supporting me too.”
Marc says his experience has made him realise what really matters.
“I think it’s important to try and live every day like it’s your last – so buy those last minute concert tickets and go on that last minute holiday.”
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