Living the

Jamie puts his fight with kidney disease to one side to focus on Florida trip

A brave Ferguslie teenager who lives with chronic kidney disease is gearing up for the trip of a lifetime – but 12 years ago his mum feared she had lost her baby boy.

Mum-of-five Vickie Crichton’s life was turned upside down when baby Jamie stopped breathing four days after his first birthday.

Thankfully Jamie survived, but Vickie was handed the devastating news that her little boy only had one functioning kidney and faced a lifetime of medical assistance

Now, 13, Jamie Roddie has spent much of his life in and out of hospital and faces the prospect of one day requiring a transplant.

But the Castlehead High pupil is now looking forward to a trip to Orlando, Florida, thanks to charity Dreamflight after a nurse at the RAH put him forward.

Vickie, 38, said: “I was in the house alone with Jamie. It was around 2.50pm, I remember. He just stopped breathing.

“I panicked. I have an NC and an HNC in Childcare, so I had done first aid, but it all went it out of my head. I just didn’t know what to do. When it is your own baby, it is just completely different.

“I phoned the ambulance, and the paramedics came out. He was unresponsive, they rushed him straight to the RAH.

“At first the doctors thought it was meningitis so they put him in a room by himself to start with.

After various tests, medics informed Vickie that her bright bubbly little baby boy only had one working kidney and it was only functioning at a fraction of its full capacity.

“You couldn’t underestimate how healthy Jamie was, he was born 9lbs 7oz, a big healthy baby,” she went on.

“Then this happened. It was such a shock.

“I didn’t fully understand at first. But the doctors were amazing, they drew diagrams and explained what was happening to him.

“He was diagnosed as stage two renal failure, and now he is classed as stage three renal failure which means he has chronic kidney disease.

“Eventually, he will need dialysis and eventually a transplant.”

Jamie has spent much of his young life in and out of hospital and has relied on the Panda Centre at the RAH for medical support.

Vickie said: “The kidney disease is putting pressure on his heart now.

“So he now has high blood pressure, which he is taking medicine for.

“We have to be very strict with his diet. He is on a low potassium and salt diet and we have to monitor his sugar intake too. His fluid has to be