I have been working with our young adults with renal problems for over a year now, and I have to say they still manage to surprise and inspire me, day by day.
I want to take the opportunity to thank the incredible gang of young people in the Young Adult Renal Network (YARN) who made World Kidney Day 2016 their own, and they celebrated it in style! The mentors and patient volunteers did an incredible job planning, organizing and running the event. They chose to use it as a chance to say “thank you”, remembering the things they are grateful for, and showing that they don’t take any of their treatment or care for granted.
I was blown away when a small group of our young adults appeared in front of me with a basket of individually wrapped gifts. They had secretly approached the patient charity for a funds, and then they bought a supply of gifts and goodies which they wrapped in reds, golds and silver paper (not a small task judging by the number of them!). They went to every single member of staff they could find who had anything to do with renal services; nurses, cleaners, doctors, porters, secretaries, student nurses, support workers, dietitians, and physiotherapists. They left everyone they could find with a gift, a ‘thank you’ and a genuine smile of surprise and delight. It was a beautiful and heartfelt action that took a huge amount of planning and preparation, but it brought joy to a lot of hard working staff.
As I look around the office, here and there I can see the small tokens; a scented candle, a sparkly picture frame, chocolates, a shiny pen. These little gifts have had a big impact on the staff and it means a lot to them to know they are appreciated.
To see the young adult’s, so often maligned in the press, doing such a selfless and kind act is an amazing reminder of the importance of these incredible people. The YARN is powering forwards, not just as a support for the ‘patients’ but as a tool by which this awesome group of individuals can take the power to do good and help others.
I think the world needs to know about the awesome stuff these young people are