COMPLETE kidney failure left Keith Roberts a shadow of a man – thin, in ill health and having to spend most of his days on a dialysis machine.

The disease came out of the blue for Keith and he had never experienced serious health problems until a holiday on the Isle of Wight in 2008, when he first began to feel unwell.

However, last Christmas he got the best present he could have wished for – a kidney transplant.

Speaking about when he was taken ill, Keith says: “I started getting nose bleeds six times a day and I didn’t know why and my face had swollen up. I went to the doctors, but they couldn’t explain what it was and thought it might be related to high blood pressure.

“I felt like an old man and could barely go a few steps without feeling out of breath.”

After his urine test results came back showing high protein levels, Keith was taken to Southend Hospital to be checked out.

“I was told my kidneys were failing and from there on we were back and forth to hospital,” says Keith, 34, of Smallgains Avenue, Canvey.

“But life had to go on and the mortgage still had to be paid, so I continued working as a newspaper distributor. Eventually we were told my kidneys had failed and I went on dialysis.”

After a biopsy, it was revealed he had glomerulonephritis, a hereditary kidney disease which can cause renal failure at any age.

There are currently believed to be more than 37,800 adult patients receiving dialysis in the UK. Of 7,672 people on the national organ waiting list, 6,909 of them need a kidney, but only about 1,800 kidney transplants are carried out each year.

Keith was put on the transplant list in August 2008 and started dialysis, which saw him on the machine four times a day for an hour each time.

As a family man, he wanted to be able to spend as much time as possible with wife Victoria and two children George, nine, and Gracie, five, so trained to carry out dialysis on himself at home.

He says: “I got used to doing dialysis at home and got really quick at doing it. Once I had a bit of time to think about what I wanted to do with my life, in July 2009 I decided to start working as a Mencap carer, looking after people with special needs.”

Good news came in December 2009, when he got the call to say there was a transplant matching Keith’s type AB blood.

Keith says: “I got the call at 2am that there was a kidney. At this point I was having dialysis for nine hours through the night and it took time to finish it and get off the machine to the hospital.

“It all happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to think about it, which was probably for the best because I didn’t get frightened. I arrived at 4am at the hospital and went straight in to have the transplant. They didn’t remove my kidneys, but placed the new kidneys in front so if there are any problems they can be removed at a later date.

“I was weak from the operation, but I did feel in better health almost straight away. My colour came back and I got my appetite back, so started gaining weight on my thin ten-and-a half-stone frame. We had a holiday booked to go to Butlins and I was feeling a lot better so we ended up going – it was the best Christmas ever.”

Keith is now back to good health and has readjusted to normal family life.

“I have gone from taking 35 tablets a day to 14 and I feel back to normal now in terms of my health,” he says.

Victoria has been a pillar of strength for Keith and the children. She has dedicated a lot of time and energy to raise money for Kidney Research UK.

Among her fundraising endeavours have been a London bridges walk, the London Marathon and a parachute jump, raising more than £3,000 so far.

Victoria says: “Very few people are aware of the symptoms of developing the disease, or the life shattering effects the disease can have on a family once it strikes,” says Victoria.

“Just because my husband is well for now, does not mean I can stop fundraising for a charity supporting sufferers, raising awareness for this disease and researching into a cure, especially with the donor shortage in our country.”

Victoria’s next aim, with friend Michelle Brake and brother Matthew South, is to cycle from London to Paris in June 2011. To donate, visit www.kidneyresearchukevents.org/VixL2P