AN East Renfrewshire dad who went from feeling “bulletproof” to barely able to push a supermarket trolley has told how a kidney transplant has given him a new lease of life.

Jim McIntosh, 52, admits there were times when simply making it through the day felt “ridiculously tough” as kidney disease took its toll.

When his daughter Millie was born, he even questioned whether he had done the right thing by becoming a dad at a time when the illness was limiting his capabilities.

However, undergoing a transplant has been transformational, with Jim even able to run a half-marathon since the operation took place.

He was given a donated kidney as part of a ‘three-way match’ that also saw his wife Lorna donate one of her kidneys to transform the life of another patient.

Jim told the Barrhead News: “Lorna is in perfect health and has no ill effects from donating and I am now back to feeling like a fit and healthy person.

“I can also see how much happier she is now that I’m well.”

Jim was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease – a genetic condition passed to him by his father – when he was at primary school.

Initially, the condition wasn’t a problem for Jim, who said he was running marathons and feeling “bulletproof,” but by 2011 he noticed a change in his quality of life.

He began to feel constantly exhausted and struggled to do the things he previously took for granted.

With his kidneys functioning at just 10 per cent, Jim started dialysis that year.

“My diet had to be really restricted, the toxins were building up in my body, making my skin itch, and sleeping became difficult,” he said.

“Lorna was watching me getting weaker and weaker. Running marathons was a distant memory. I could barely push a supermarket trolley.

“Our daughter Millie was born in February of that year and I remember sitting holding her in the hospital, questioning whether I’d done the right thing becoming a dad.

“I just wanted to be able do everything for that wee bundle of joy and my wife.

“I missed the first time Millie crawled and walked because I was in the hospital on dialysis. Life revolved around treatment.”

Despite his failing health, Jim was still able to hold down his job as a manager at a software company.

“Keeping working got me through dialysis,” he said. “I had something to get out of bed for.

“Although it felt ridiculously tough at times, having to concentrate on work helped take my mind off being ill.”

After a couple of years on dialysis, dealing with the tiredness became impossible.

Then the couple met a transplant co-ordinator at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and, within months, everything changed.

They were able to take part in the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme, where Lorna would give a kidney to ensure Jim received one.

Jim said: “I told Lorna I didn’t want her to donate and it wasn’t possible because of her blood group – mainly because I was trying to be brave and protect her – but I was actually doing the opposite. I had no understanding of the impact my illness was having on people around me.

“When we first investigated being part of the scheme, we were told it would probably take a few attempts but, just a few weeks later, the transplant co-ordinator Julie called to say we had a match.”

Jim and Lorna, from Giffnock, went into the Western Royal Infirmary in September 2014 for the three-way match to take place.

“I know how lucky I am,” said Jim. “I got a good quality of kidney from a young male. Because of my blood and tissue type, finding a suitable donor could have taken up to seven years and spending that length of time on dialysis would have been unimaginable.

“Millie doesn’t really remember me being ill but, because of what I’ve been given, I’m able to take her swimming, or walk up a hill – and I ran a half-marathon back in October. Life is busy, it’s active and it’s brilliant.”