Words: Brigid O’Connell
Photography: Jay Town

Every night for the past two years, Lilly Chugg has been tucked into bed, given a goodnight kiss and hooked up for a lifesaving ritual.

For 10 hours, without fail, her blood is filtered for toxins. It’s a vital job that her malformed kidneys are no longer capable of at just six years of age.

“She can tell you how to set her machine up, and if she could lift them five kilo fluid bags she’d probably do it herself,” said mum Tamika Boulter.

A donation of a new kidney is now her only chance of a healthy life. Lilly was born with bilateral renal dysplasia, where both kidneys aren’t formed properly before birth.

One in every 1000 children will have this malformation of their kidney, but just one in a million will develop kidney failure.

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