A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy who has only one kidney – which was working at just 17 per cent – has found a donor.

Last June, Joshua Dolan, from Enniskillen, discovered the news abut his kidney and since then his mother, Mary has been searching for that special donor who could save her son’s life.

Back in November, six months since the first appeal, Mary told The Impartial Reporter that no donor had been found, with Joshua’s condition deteriorating.

However, a donor has now come forward, and Mary is over the moon at the kindness of one stranger.

Graham Dodds came forward to offer his kidney to Joshua, and after all the tests were completed, the news that they were compatible was the news that Joshua’s family had been desperately waiting for.

“[Graham] wasn’t on the [donor] register until he saw Joshua, and he put himself forward and he was a match,” explained Mary.

“Like I said to Graham, no words can tell him how grateful we are, and even Joshua said to him ‘thanks so much’!

“We are over the moon, and that is the truth.”

With Covid restricting interaction between people, Joshua has still managed to meet his donor over Zoom online meeting, and Mary says they hit it off straight away.

“He had a chat with his donor on a Zoom call. They’ve got to meet, and they got talking to each other, and it was like they knew each other from before, they got on that well.”

Now that they have the news of a donor, Joshua has to wait for an operation date, but they hope it will be sooner rather than later.

It is the light at the end of the tunnel for Joshua, who is on dialysis three times a week, and takes up to 21 tablets daily.

Joshua’s life has been constricted to his home and hospital, but he is hoping to return to school this week. Despite the tough times, Joshua is still managing to put on a brave face.

“He had a few infections, and he has been tired, and he hasn’t been at school. But he’s going back to school on Thursday.

“He’s been tired a lot, but Joshua is Joshua – he just gets on with it. He just keeps going and going.

“[But the donor offer] is light at the end of the tunnel. We didn’t think we would get this far.

“This man [Graham] is just a legend for putting himself forward for being a kidney donor.”

However, even though they have a donor in place, Mary knows that there is still a long way to go before her son’s life is a normal one.

“Joshua has had a long old road, and when he gets his kidney he will be on the road to recovery, which is another long road,” said Mary.