Last summer, I went on a three week holiday with my family and I had the most amazing time, although I was pretty sad to leave my boyfriend behind. We'd only been together for a few months, but I really liked him.

Half way through the holiday though, things turned bad. I started getting cramping pains in the right side of my stomach. The pain would ease away when I was in the water, so on days when we weren't at theme parks, I'd have a swim in the hotel pool. The pain would immediately go, so I thought it couldn't be anything that bad.

Over the course of the holiday, the pain began to get much worse and I kept crippling over with it. I couldn't even use the toilet without feeling just awful. My parents thought I was putting it on, but I really wasn't.

Time to do something

The three weeks of my holiday passed and eventually the pain in my side went; I thought no more of it. Then, about a month after we'd got back, it started up again. I was in such excruciating pain that this time my mum took me straight down to the doctors. It was almost unbearable.

The doctor examined my side by pressing and prodding me, and then he sent me to hospital immediately. He thought it was my appendix.

When I arrived at the hospital I had my water tested. They sent me back home again saying I only had a water infection, but if I felt ill again that I should come back... which I did, the very next day.

Getting answers

I had a scan, where the doctors discovered it wasn't what they'd thought. It wasn't a water infection and it wasn't my appendix… it was my kidney! It turned out my kidney was way too small and wasn't functioning properly, so I was given some tablets which I had to take daily and was told I'd need a specific kidney scan.

The scan was fine and by this point I wasn't in too much pain anymore. I had to wait 2 weeks for the results, but when we got them they weren't what we were expecting. My kidney had stopped working and the other one was on its way out. I needed to have a kidney transplant.

*Some names may have been changed.

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More complications

We were all so shocked. Throughout all of this, along with my family of course, my boyfriend was really there for me. We'd been together about seven months and he'd been there for me when I needed him. I knew he was a great boyfriend, but I hadn't realised just how great he was until he did the most amazing thing for me...

The next day, I was back down the hospital with my parents, two of my best mates and my boyfriend. The plan was that I'd be having one of my father's kidneys. My dad had a check to make sure his kidney was suitable.

The check was usual, so we didn't expect there to be a problem, but there was one: his wasn't functioning properly either, and with my mother being pregnant she wasn't able to have the op. It was such a scary time for me! I honestly though I might die.

My BF offered to help

That's when my boyfriend stepped forward. He offered to donate one of his kidneys to me. I couldn't believe it! We checked with his dad, who agreed. For the next two days we were both kept in a ward on high doses of medication, all the while he was having tests to see if our kidneys were compatible.

We knew it was very unlikely, but we kept our fingers crossed. The results came back the next day and, unbelievably our kidneys were compatible! We couldn't believe it! The very next day we were sent into theatre for our ops. And from then on, things go a bit blank...

Waking up

I remember waking up 2 days later, feeling pretty uncomfortable. In the ward next to me stood my parents and my boyfriend, they'd obviously been watching over me the whole time.

My boyfriend showed me his scar from his operation and I realised I had one completely identical! The operation was successful and although I have to keep taking tablets, I'm not in any pain anymore. I've still got my scar, but instead of hating it, I look at it and smile because it reminds me of the how amazing my boyfriend truly is.