<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Simon and Nikita Biggs were days away from their first wedding anniversary in October 2023 when he woke unable to move or speak.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Simon was suffering a mini-stroke caused by end-stage kidney disease, which could cost the family upwards of $40,000 to manage.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he had no clue he was even sick.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/louvre-museum-robbery-musee-du-louvre-closed-for-exceptional-reasons/aabe4c60-19e9-41da-930d-9763d1c095b4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Shaky phone vision emerges of high-stakes four-minute Louvre heist</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nikita raced him to the small hospital near their home in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, WA, where blood tests revealed his kidney function had dropped to just 10 per cent.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At just 33, he was diagnosed with Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), which can lead to heart attack, stroke, and death.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'll never forget the look on his face, he looked so helpless," Nikita told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/kidney-disease-australia-simon-biggs-stage-5-shock-diagnosis/5959bedf-d088-41af-8d75-31d8e1317df6" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He looked so scared."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There's no cure for CKD and the couple couldn't understand how doctors had missed it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Simon had been living with Type 1 diabetes since he was 10 years old and attended regular GP check-ups, including one just a few months prior.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite that, no one had flagged Simon's rapidly declining kidney function.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He hadn't noticed any signs either – but that's not surprising.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/australia-super-fund-finance-money/34c1ef43-c445-4af3-abd7-b925b78b2eca"><strong><span>Millions of Aussies make financial admission that could cost them big in retirement</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>General manager, clinical and research at </span><a href="https://kidney.org.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Kidney Health Australia"><span>Kidney Health Australia</span></a><span> Breonny Robson told 9news.com.au many Australians with CKD have no clue they're sick until it's too late.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's because symptoms, like fatigue, are vague and only manifest in the late stages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a condition that's really under-detected, primarily because you can lose 90 per cent of your kidney function before you start to feel unwell," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And there's 2.7 million Australians who are living with signs of kidney disease but have no idea that they have the condition."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After the stroke, Simon had to start daily peritoneal dialysis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nikita was forced to resign from her job and take part-time work so she could focus on caring for him and their son.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It slashed their income right as the medical bills and other costs began to flood in.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ringwood-carjackings-victoria-police-foil-two-attempted-incidents/cac30f32-f1c0-4f12-b8f3-aed2d4b40168" target="_blank"><strong><span>Food delivery driver ambushed by machete-wielding carjackers</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Living in a rural area made it even trickier and Simon constantly had to travel to Perth for appointments, hospital admissions, and surgeries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With no extended family in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the Biggs' struggled financially and emotionally.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All the flights to Perth and the accommodation, I was out of pocket for that," Nikita said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Simon was in ICU at one point for over a week, and to stay in a motel for over a week [costs] over $1,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No one covers that – that's out of your own back pocket while you're not working."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kidney Health Australia research revealed more than 80 per cent of people on dialysis experience financial hardship.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Simon and Nikita started an online fundraiser to help cover medical bills and have already raised about $20,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But that will cover just a fraction of his treatment and care over the next few years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/suspected-space-junk-crash-lands-on-wa-mine-site/d44e81a0-46ea-4ede-9d7a-cad4ddfd1e27" target="_blank"><strong><span>Mysterious flaming 'space junk' crashes into remote WA</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia is also in the grips of a dialysis crisis as the demand for CKD treatment outstrips supply.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An estimated 1.7 million Australian adults live with CKD and more than 15,000 patients with kidney failure are currently being treated with dialysis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But there's not enough dialysis chairs for all of them, and there's a national shortage of renal nurses and nephrologists to treat them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Simon also suffered serious complications from Type 1 diabetes, including bilateral cataracts and neuropathy in both legs, which had left him wheelchair-bound.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Eventually the family made the tough choice to move to NSW to be closer to family and healthcare services.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But they got more bad news this July; Simon's peritoneal treatment wasn't working.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He had to have yet another surgery and transitioned to haemodialysis this month, which he will have to continue until a donor kidney becomes available.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But organ donation rates are low in Australia and demand for donor kidneys vastly outpaces supply.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/teenagers-wounded-in-melbourne-machete-attack/a6f7911c-3179-49fa-a7fa-861d04182664"><strong><span>Teenagers attacked by machete-wielding gang outside city's fun park</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="player__video-container"><img alt="" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/CWACfx6TM4NMv9xjQzKl7uAyABA=/750x0/https%3A%2F%2Fvms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2F2024%2F08%2F626833%2Fpickerimage.jpg"/></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now Simon is stuck in limbo, waiting on a kidney that may never arrive</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nikita is his primary caregiver and will be for the foreseeable future.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's really hard, and you're trying to be really strong and keep your s--t together when all you want to do is sit in the corner and cry," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They're doing all they can to raise awareness so other young families don't end up in the same situation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You think, 'that won't happen to me,' and just ignore it," Simon told 9news.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Let's be honest, before I got kidney disease I didn't care about kidney disease because it didn't affect me."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He hopes sharing his story might help change that attitude in other Aussies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kidney Health Australia has declared a "national kidney health emergency" and is also advocating for increased awareness and early diagnosis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Especially among the three in four Aussies at increased risk of kidney disease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/67-meme-usa-generation-alpha/06f4f524-6b9a-4eed-8e10-12dfcf734c40" target="_blank"><strong><span>Why kids across the world are shouting the '6-7' meme in school</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, previous heart attacks or strokes, obesity, smoking and vaping, and having a family history of kidney disease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And while medical science has come a long way in the treatment and management of kidney disease in the last few decades, the best treatment is still prevention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We'd really encourage people to be aware if they fall into one of those categories, and if they do, to get a simple kidney health check with their GP every year or two," Robson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last week, Simon and Nikita marked their third wedding anniversary in a dialysis unit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They just hope the next one will be different.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? 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