Young patient dedicates comic to hospital that saved her life

A 12-year-old kidney transplant patient, together with her kidney donor dad, has created a comic book dedicated to Evelina London Children’s Charity to raise awareness of the hospital’s life-saving care.

The children’s comic with stories of robot private investigators and Greyfriars Bobby was dreamt up by Naia Clarke and her dad, Adrian Clarke, over the 18 months Naia was in and out of Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

Naia, from Woking, was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a condition that causes the kidneys to leak large amounts of protein into the urine, in September 2022.

On her tenth birthday she was transferred for specialist care at Evelina London. Within months the swimming enthusiast went into end stage kidney failure, and her kidney function dropped to 9%.

Following a year of dialysis, Naia’s only treatment option was a transplant. Thankfully both her parents, Stacey, 40, and Adrian, 47, were a good match.

Naia received the best possible gift, one of her dad’s kidneys, in November 2023.

The transplant was a success, and 1 year later, Naia is thriving. The family, which also includes youngest daughter Elenie, 6, celebrated Christmas in Cornwall with their wider family for the first time in 3 years.

Naia’s mum Stacey, a headteacher at an infant school, said:

That day when both my eldest daughter and husband were in surgery was awful, but the transplant has given Naia her life back. She is able to do all the things she loves but had to give up before her transplant, like swimming and going to school. 

This summer, Naia attended her first British Transplant Games, an annual event which bring together families of organ donors and recipients from across the UK to celebrate life and give thanks to organ donors.

Adrian, who had his surgery in the adult kidney transplant service at Guy’s Hospital, a counterpart to the children’s kidney service at Evelina London, both part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said:

Before Naia became unwell I hadn’t thought about donating a kidney, but she needed it, and I had a spare. It is very satisfying to help someone, if she hadn’t needed it I would have considered donating it to a stranger too.

Now, Adrian is giving back to the team who continue to care for Naia, through his passion for comics and storytelling.

The all-ages comic issue, edited by Naia, features imaginative stories about detectives and a robot city. Naia also authored a piece about her care at Evelina London, and how the incredible team helped her.

Naia, who compares Evelina London to a massive shopping centre, where they can do all your procedures under one roof, said:

The last 2 years have been incredibly difficult in so many ways… but Evelina London has supported me through every step of my diagnosis. They helped me understand more about my disease and how to help myself physically and mentally to be as resilient as possible when facing hard times.

Adrian, an IT director and comic book editor and publisher, said: “I’ve always loved comics, they help children to read and understand the world around them. I thought I should use my skills and pay them forward.”

All profits from the comic, which will be the first children’s comic in the SHIFT series, will go to Evelina London Children’s Charity. They support the incredible care at Evelina London, including sponsoring the attendance of patients and their families, the Evelina VIPs, at the British Transplant Games, so they are able to attend no matter their circumstances.

Stacey said:

Evelina London saved our little girl. They gave our family a lease of life, and gave us our daughter back. We want to raise money for Evelina London Children’s Charity to help other families like us.

Transplant team paediatric advanced nurse practitioner and Evelina London VIPs team manager, Grainne Walsh, said: “Naia is doing so well just 1 year after her transplant. It is amazing that she has chosen to dedicate a comic to Evelina London, and knowing it is supporting Evelina London Children’s Charity makes it even more special.

“We care for 85 children from across London and the South East in the kidney transplant team, and are so thankful for every person who chooses to donate an organ and give someone the opportunity to live their life to the full.”

Laura Savory, director of fundraising at Evelina London Children's Charity, said: “We are continually amazed by the creativity our fantastic fundraisers demonstrate, and are so grateful to Naia and her family for their support. 

“Every donation helps us support Evelina London to go that bit further so that children, young people and their families find a home away from home in hospital.”

The comic book is available in retailers across the UK and Ireland, find out where you can pick up your copy on the SHIFT website.