'I thought I had the flu but it was my kidney failing'
Family handoutA teenage girl who was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure wants to raise awareness that the condition can impact children as well as adults.
Doctors rushed Lilly, 14, from Yeovil, Somerset, into intensive care and placed her in an induced coma in June, after she had been suffering from flu-like symptoms for three months.
Dad Christopher said it was "every parent's worst nightmare" and he "didn't know which way it was going to go".
She is now living with the condition and undergoing dialysis several times a week. But her mission is to raise awareness to ensure other young people "don't get so sick".
Lilly said she was "kind of relieved" when she was told she would be put in a coma, as she was in “so much pain”.
The teenager was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Bristol Children's Hospital, where she spent three days in a coma.
She now has regular dialysis to stop her condition escalating, but doctors say she will eventually require a transplant.
Lilly wants to help others in her situation and has aspirations to meet the prime minister.
She is speaking out about the condition, which is often associated with older people.
"I want to make sure for children like me, and others that I know on dialysis, that they don't feel so alone," she said.
Lilly has reached out to Yeovil MP Adam Dance, as well as the prime minister's office, while working with the National Kidney Federation.
Dad Christopher said he was "so proud of Lilly".
"It's been a nightmare. Being told by the hospital they don't know which way it's going to go.
"She's been a beacon, especially now, knowing later on in life she wants to become a renal consultant to help children in the same position.
"This is her passion," he added.
Speaking to the BBC, Lilly's consultant, Professor Richard Coward, underlined the seriousness of her condition, adding it was impressive how driven she is to make a change.
"Lilly, like many of our patients, is amazing.
"They come in with end-stage renal failure and they're really resilient, they rally really quickly, then they want to give back which is really commendable," he said.
Professor Coward added Lilly will be an advocate for further research into treatment and therapies.
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