Hordle man Cameron Burns running London Marathon to raise money for Kidney Care UK after losing a kidney himself

A MAN left with one kidney after nearly losing his life to sepsis is running the London marathon to help “people less fortunate than myself”.

Cameron Burns (21) from Hordle was struck down with what he thought was a severe urine infection in December 2022 and ended up in hospital on Boxing Day.

“I had been enjoying a holiday at Center Parcs with my girlfriend Amy Leagus but at 2.30am on Boxing Day I was in such pain I couldn’t move,” said Cameron.

“By the time I got to hospital my heart rate was up to 200 beats per minute. Doctors thought I had a really bad kidney infection but I suddenly developed sepsis and went into kidney failure.

“I was taken to ICU and given antibiotics. It was touch and go for a while, but I managed to come through.”

Cameron, who works for a marketing agency in Highcliffe, had a stent put into one kidney but three months later it had to be removed.

“I made a good recovery, and in May last year I was watching the London Marathon with Amy,” he said. “I said to her, ‘I could do that!’, and she said, “Go on then, prove it!’”

Cameron went onto the London Marathon website and entered the ballot to secure a place for the 2025 TCS event. He said: “It asked on the entry form whether I was doing it for a cause and I noticed that Kidney Care UK was one of the charities people were supporting.

“I put that down and when I looked on their website, I was absolutely shocked to realise how many people in the UK are living with severe kidney problems.

“Some spend years on transplant lists and never have one. Others have to undergo regular dialysis which I’ve discovered, per session, takes a toll on your body that is equivalent to running 26 marathons.

“I remembered that one of my teachers at school used to tell us about the dialysis she had to have but I had never realised what people are going through.

“It made me think, ‘that could have been me’. I have been so much more fortunate than other people. I am actually fine and living a normal life, but there are three and half million people in the UK with chronic kidney disease who are not.”

Last year Cameron entered the Bournemouth marathon and is now training hard for the London event.

He said: “I am really excited about it. I’m fairly confident I will make it, and I’m hoping to help people who have not been so lucky as me.

“I want to raise awareness of what they are going through and raise some money to go towards helping to find a cure for this awful disease.”

To donate, visit 2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/cameron-burns