A DOTING mum has paid tribute to a supermarket after it helped transform the life of her young son, who was born with only one fully formed kidney.

Katrina Crosby’s son Jake, 3, was born with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney (MCDK).

Asda’s Dunbar branch agreed to pay for the cost of hiring a wheelchair for six weeks for Jake after he underwent keyhole surgery.

It was through one of Katrina’s neighbours that the retail giant got involved.

John Louden, who works in the Dunbar store, spoke to Charlotte De’Ath, who is in charge of fundraising at the store.

Katrina said: “They have paid for the hire of the wheelchair that we got from the British Red Cross so we could get about.

“John spoke to Charlotte and she organised to make the payment to the British Red Cross so we don’t have to worry about it.

“They need £53 pounds a week to cover the wear and tear of the chairs.” The 35-year-old former Dunbar Grammar School pupil admitted that had been invaluable to her son, particularly over the Easter holidays.

She said: “It’s helped me a lot and I just want to thank John and Charlotte for everything they have done.

“To raise the money and to know there is someone out there willing to help is great – it was very, very stressful, it was just a nightmare.” MCDK occurs during foetal development and means the kidney consists of irregular cysts of varying sizes and has no function.

Katrina said: “He has suffered quite a lot of pain since he was a baby.

“There was a very large cyst on his left kidney but because [the kidney] is dead anyway, they chose to remove it, which was done on April 4.

“They managed to do keyhole surgery at the Sick Kids in Edinburgh.

“Obviously, by looking at him you can see he is OK but before the operation he suffered a lot of pain and did not have much energy.

“He was always tired and in and out of hospital with pain, but obviously he is on the mend now.” However, his other kidney has PKD, which means it will deteriorate over time and at some point he will require a kidney transplant.

Katrina’s husband, Gary, also suffers from the condition and was diagnosed two years ago.

That means trips in and out of hospital for him as well.

Katrina, who is also mum to four-year-old Alise and six-year-old Keira, said the hereditary condition meant there was a “high possibility” the two girls would have it too.

Originally, she was able to control Jake’s pain through pain relief but it got to the stage where he was distressed and could collapse on the floor.

“Now, he will tell anybody ‘the doctor fixed my back’,” she said.

“Just to hear that means the world to me.” The youngster, who is due to start primary school next summer, will still need regular hospital appointments, with one pencilled in for August to make sure he has healed.

Then, in January, he will go to hospital for tests to check the kidneys’ function.

Katrina added that Jake was not yet 100 per cent but felt the change had been incredible.

“It’s just crazy,” said Katrina, who now lives in Croftsacre, Cockburnspath.

“People that saw him before and see him now four weeks later are amazed.”