JOE LAMONT: Yeah, I am going to get a new kidney.
JOE LAMONT: Mama.
COMM: From an early age, 4-year-old Joe Lamont has suffered from two conditions affecting
his liver and kidneys.
SARAH LAMONT: The first one he was born with, which is autosomal recessive polycystic kidney
disorder and then about 9 months later he was also diagnosed with congenital hepatic
fibrosis. First one is a kidney disorder and the second is a liver disease. His kidneys
were massively enlarged; they took up his whole abdomen, crushing his lungs and all
his other organs.
WOMAN: Right, I will take it off nice and slowly.
JOE LAMONT: No, no, no.
WOMAN: Yes, yes, yes.
JOE LAMONT: No, no, no.
WOMAN: Yes, yes, yes.
JOE LAMONT: No, no, no.
SARAH LAMONT: I was told that my baby wouldn’t survive. You know, people see you with a bump
and they automatically go, ‘ Well, when are you due?’ And I remember trying to go
back to work for maybe a week afterwards and I just couldn’t.
JOE LAMONT: Mercy! Mercy!
SARAH LAMONT: Mercy! Mercy!
SARAH LAMONT: He enjoys dialysis. He loves the nurses and they love him.
HAZEL GIBSON: I knew right from that first meeting that her main aim in life would be
that Joe would have as normal a childhood as she could.
JOE LAMONT: Hospital is so fun because I am sick, I go to hospital and then it is
so fun and then I take claim and then leave it with my mom and then, and then take my treat.
JOE LAMONT: What’s that?
SARAH LAMONT: That’s for Mary. She is going home today. She has been in here a very long time.
SARAH LAMONT: Joe is the biggest rascal ever. He likes anything, typical boy rude or naughty.
JOE LAMONT: Mummy.
SARAJ LAMONT: Yes.
JOE LAMONT: Is that a magic phone?
SARAH LAMONT: Yes.
JOE LAMONT: Can I have the magic phone?
SARAH LAMONT: No.
JOE LAMONT: Why?
SARAH LAMONT: Because you might break it.
JOE LAMONT: No.
SARAH LAMONT: No matter what way you look at it, he is still in hospital for four hours
a day, on a machine, in a cot. So, he is missing a huge part of his life.
COMM: Due to the removal of Joe’s diseased kidneys, he’s been on dialysis from just
a few days old.
SARAH LAMONT: Peritoneal dialysis is a huge level of commitment and I am a single parent.
SARAH LAMONT: It’s very hard because there’s times, because he is never well. You are always
judging, ‘Does he need to go the hospital or is this just normal for Joe?’
HAZEL GIBSON: It was felt that maybe within about 18 months, Joe would have a liver transplant.
But he never actually got a call.
SARAH LAMONT: I realised you can give a lobe of your liver and I said, ‘Look, if I can
give a lobe of my liver and, in theory, I can give a kidney, why can I not give both?’ And
that was how this all came about.
COMM: After passing the suitable living relative donor tests, Sarah gave Joe a section
of her liver in January 2017 and is now due to donate her kidney too.
SARAH LAMONT: As any mother that loves her kids, you would give them your last breath.
For Joe, I was really scared. He is a sick little boy and he has had so many problems,
I just wanted to know he was going to be okay.
JOE LAMONT: Look what I got.
SARAH LAMONT: Look helicopter! Come on.
JOE LAMONT: Slappy.
SARAH LAMONT: He has lost his jacket. It’s in my car.
JOE LAMONT: This doll is so cool.
SARAH LAMONT: He loves to play with his brother and sister. I will be honest; I don’t think
I could have done it without them. They do things that nurses, some nurses don’t even do.
GIRL: It’s so scary.
SARAH LAMONT: Well, the next surgery shouldn’t be as big an ordeal for either of us as the
liver. So I can’t wait. We have only one more dialysis in Belfast. Oh, my goodness...
SARAH LAMONT: And I remember, like, 5 years ago, I never thought we would get to this
day and it was a, it would be a dream come true for my wee boy to ever get his organs
and now that day is so close and I can’t wait.
COMM: The day has arrived for Sarah and Joe’s kidney transplant. Due to Joe’s young age
and the nature of his surgery, he’s been sent to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Sarah is four and a half miles away in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.
SARAH LAMONT: This will really change his life. We will not be going to dialysis three
times a week. He will be able to do things like a normal child can such as going to the
swimming pool, which features a lot in his conversations. They are hoping to take me
down to theatre about half 8, which is a little bit earlier, which is better. Hazel, who would
be a really good friend of mine and helps me with Joe’s care, she is over with Joe
at the children’s hospital because, obviously, I can’t be there. So she is there to look
after him. He has been sending messages, me and Joe, via Hazel. So, he is excited and
I am excited.
SARAH LAMONT: Hazel is probably a nervous wreck.
HAZEL BOVILLE: Joe has quite an understanding more than we realise. He said to his mum,
‘I am getting a Friday treat. I am getting my kidney.’
HAZEL BOVILLE: When Sarah gave Joe the liver, I thought his walking would be affected. But,
no, Joe bounced back and he will bounce back again. I know he will.
COMM: With Sarah’s surgery complete, the kidney needs to be quickly transported to
the children’s hospital.
KHALID SHARIF: The way the surgery has gone today, I hope that by tomorrow the kidney
will be clearing all the urea and creatinine from the body. Well, if the kidney start working
then Joe will not need the three-dialysis a week. He will not have any restrictions
in terms of what kind of food he can eat, how much fluid he can drink. So, which means
they can have a start, starting some family life, he can start going to school. So, he
goes on to his normal life as well.
SARAH LAMONT: I feel, like, the luckiest mummy alive. You know, Joe was never meant to be
here and he is, and he is the funniest child and he is so loving and I think me and him
have a special bond.
SARAH LAMONT: My hopes and dreams for Joe in the future is just to grow up and be happy.
I just want to see him grow old.
SARAH LAMONT: Where are you going Joe?
JOE LAMONT: The pool!
SARAH LAMONT: Are you excited?
JOE LAMONT: Yeah!
SARAH LAMONT: Many mothers dread if any of your children were to go before you. So, I just
want to see him grow up and have a happy life.
JOE LAMONT: My mummy is the best in the world.