Doncaster teenager with incurable kidney disease raises money for hospital
Doncaster teen raises over £10,000 for hospital that treats his kidney condition.
A teenager who has spent nine years battling a rare and incurable kidney disease has one wish and that is to raise as much as possible for the hospital.
Dylan James, 13, from Doncaster was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease at the age of five years old and has received treatment for most of his life at Nottingham Children’s Hospital renal unit.
The treatment included dialysis four days a week, for five hours per day.
Whilst enduring the dialysis, the 13-year-old decided he wanted to fundraise for the hospital. When offered a make-a-wish, his choice was to raise money for the unit.
Overall, Dylan has raised £10,000 for the hospital through various ways such as going live on social media platforms such as TikTok on his @rachanddyl account and educating viewers on kidney disease, as well as organising a sponsored skydive.
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The funds he has raised have helped buy new equipment for the dialysis unit, consoles, iPads, a new seating area for their Youth Room and more.
Last Christmas, he also collected over 100 gifts for children who were receiving dialysis over the holiday period, to help share happiness across the unit.
But, he didn’t stop there. He gave himself a new challenge: to raise £3,000 for dopplers for the hospital as that is what they were in dire need of the most. The equipment will help the renal team monitor blood pressure in children receiving dialysis at home, supporting their care during treatment.
Dylan’s mum, Rachael Ravenhill, reached out to online prize draw company - Elite Competitions charitable leg, Elite Contributions, and told them about her son’s next challenge.
They were inspired by his charitable efforts and wanted to support his next goal.
Speaking on Dylan’s fundraising efforts, Rachael said: “I was beyond proud when Dylan told us he wanted to raise money for the hospital. The dialysis team there is exceptional. The unit manager, Julia and all her team got us all as a family through the hardest of times. The dialysis keeps children like Dylan alive.
“Dylan was 12 when he decided to start fundraising, it broke my heart to know that he knew the treatment was life sustaining but to want to turn this into a positive, helping other children who are surviving on dialysis made me the proudest mum in the world. Due to him being on haemodialysis at home, we weren’t able to get out much which is why we started a TikTok to raise donations, we have had so much incredible support there from followers.”