Ralph Frost, the kidney patient who hopes to be home by Christmas

The six-year-old suffers from nephrotic syndrome and is currently waiting for a kidney from his father Nick

Jamie Merrill
Monday 23 November 2015 21:04 GMT
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(Lucy Young)

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For Ralph Frost the hardest thing about having to live at Great Ormond Street Hospital while he waits for a new kidney isn't missing his toys.

He has plenty of those and can terrorise the nurses by pushing his little red motorbike down the corridors of Eagle Ward.

The hardest thing for the six-year-old is battling not to cry out during his nightly dialysis sessions. "It really hurts," he said. "But the other kids are sleeping and I don't want to wake them up."

Ralph suffers from nephrotic syndrome and is waiting for a kidney from his father, Nick.

Ralph has also suffered a series of painful blood clots that his doctors have been unable to fully explain.

They hope the removal of his kidneys a month ago will stop the clots, but only time will tell if this is the case and he'll be well enough for a transplant.

Nonetheless, Ralph has already named his new kidney - Chase.

His mother and father have been trained to operate his dialysis machine and hope to be home by Christmas.

"The best thing will be sleeping in my own bed," said Ralph.

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