SUPER AUNTIE SAVED MY LIFE
Carolyn donates her kidney to brave nephew Daniel, 3
A HEROIC auntie saved her nephew’s life – by giving him a kidney.
Carolyn Cornet, 44, came to the rescue when little Daniel Cornet, three, desperately needed a transplant. The toddler now calls Carolyn his “superhero”.
reject the organ a few hours later. You just can’t help but think of these things. We are just so lucky everything went off without a hitch and the outcome has been amazing.”
Daniel suffered kidney complications in the womb, which stopped his organs developing properly.
When he was born, doctors told his parents he had end-stage renal failure.
Over the next few months, he had several surgeries and stents put in to help drain the fluids that his body was unable to pass normally.
Daniel had to be fed through a tube in his nose, something he “absolutely hated”. At 10 months, he had a kidney removed and was placed on dialysis.
Louise said: “He did 10 hours a night and we worked out he spent 9000 hours lying in bed hooked up to a machine. He’s such a tough wee man and took it all in his stride.
“He is continually smiling and waving and blowing kisses. Daniel keeps you going and has to put up with so much. He has anaemia and rickets because of the kidney disease. We never thought he’d walk but he’s amazed everyone.”
The couple say the transplant has transformed Daniel’s life and he’s been able to go swimming for the first time and can finally enjoy playing outside with his friends.
Louise added: “He’s got a new lease of life and that’s all down to his Auntie Carolyn.”
SCOTLAND’S youngest dialysis patient had his life saved by his “superhero” aunt – after she donated a kidney to him.
Daniel Cornet was born with renal failure and endured 18 operations, septicaemia and countless hospital trips.
The three-year-old spent more than 9000 hours hooked up to dialysis machines to keep him alive – until doctors discovered that Carolyn Cornet was a perfect match.
She immediately stepped forward to become a live kidney donor after the family were told a transplant was the toddler’s only hope. Despite the risks, Carolyn had no doubts about going under the knife for her nephew.
Carolyn, 44, from Dunfermline, said: “I watched Daniel struggle from the second he was born and just wanted to help in any way I could. He’s such an incredible, brave wee boy and deserves the chance to live a normal, healthy life.
“As soon as I found out I was a match, it was a no-brainer really. I knew I had to give Daniel a kidney and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Seeing the difference it has made to his life is the biggest reward for all of our family.”
Mum Louise Paton, 38, says Daniel is thriving since the surgery, which took place last December, and his auntie is now his “superhero”.
He was on his feet with a little help from his parents just two days after the transplant.
Louise, from Cairneyhill in Fife, said: “Carolyn is just incredible and we can’t thank her enough for what she’s done. She saved Daniel’s life and she did it without a moment’s hesitation.
“She’s the most selfless person I know and Carolyn and Daniel will always share a special bond.”
Knowing Daniel would require a transplant, Louise and partner Nicky, 41, decided they would search for a live donor after being told it was the best hope of giving their son a normal life. The couple, along with Carolyn and a family friend, were tested to see if any of them would be a strong enough match.
Louise said: “We had prepared ourselves for the worst, that none of us would be suitable. But then when the tests came back and Carolyn was a 100 per cent match, we were over the moon.
“We just couldn’t believe it, yet she was just so calm and focused. Carolyn never wobbled once through the whole process. Daniel had been on dialysis for 10 hours a night since he was 10 months old and finding a suitable donor so close to home was a dream come true.
“He’s spent around a year-and-a-half of his life in hospital and at times we wondered how he’d get through it.”
Living kidney donation rates in Scotland are increasing year on year, with the number of living donors rising from 86 in 2016-17 to 95 in 2017-18.
Currently, more than 400 people in Scotland are waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.
Louise admits she was terrified about her son undergoing major surgery at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
He’s such an incredible, brave wee boy and deserves a normal life CAROLYN CORNET ON HER LITTLE FIGHTER NEPHEW
She said: “It’s such a big operation and it was a worrying time for everyone. If Daniel got a cold or if Carolyn was ill, the transplant would have been called off at a moment’s notice.
“There was also the issue of putting an adult kidney into a child’s body, making sure everything was connected and that there was enough skin to close the wound.
“Carolyn was taken to theatre first and had her right kidney removed. Then Daniel was taken down and we just prayed everything would be OK.
“He was in surgery for over six hours and everything went smoothly. When he was taken into intensive care, we were told the kidney started working straight away.
“It was just such a relief because we’d heard of another youngster who went through a transplant only for his body to