Ralph Frost is a six-year-old boy who loves cheese toasties, films and making friends.
He can talk the hind legs off a donkey and made it his business to know everything about all the other children on Eagle Ward – which specialises in renal failure.
He recently had his kidneys removed and was whizzing around on a zip wire just four days later, after insisting it was vital for his quick recovery.
But only time will tell the seriousness of six-year-old Ralph's illness. Doctors are waiting to see whether the removal of both his kidneys can turn around his health and prevent the blood clots he has had over the last couple of years.
Daily dialysis keeps him alive while he waits for his father Nick’s kidney. Clinicians hope to transplant the organ, which Ralph has nicknamed Chase, around Easter.
Thanks to the efforts of Great Ormond Street Hospital’s play specialists, Ralph is unfazed by his treatment and regular blood tests and injections.
He can reel off clinical terminology as well as some GCSE biology students, and the youngster became something of a role model for other children during his time on Eagle Ward.
From Grays, Essex, he showed no signs of ill health before the age of four, when he was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a kidney condition which causes protein to leak into the urine.
In many cases, including Ralph's, it leads to extreme puffiness in the abdomen and face.
Mother Amie slept in Ralph's hospital room with him while her husband stayed at home with Ralph's four-year-old sibling. The couple were like ships in the night, swapping with one another at the weekends.
The family are now looking forward to spending some quality time together at home. Mum will take care of Ralph’s dialysis until he returns to GOSH for his operation with Chase the kidney.
