A FAMILY is using its experiences of kidney disease and cancer to help others.

Simon Howell has been on the waiting list for a new kidney for seven years and has to have regular dialysis.

His wife Anita was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before last Christmas and has undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Dr Howell, 43, from Burgess Hill is medically retired from his job as a doctor and Mrs Howell is a nurse.

The couple have created three picture books for children which explain about dialysis and kidney transplants in a way youngsters can easily understand.

They came up with the idea after unsuccessfully trying to find a book to explain to their children Sarah, now ten, and James, five, what was happening.

Mrs Howell, 43, said: “Since Sarah was little we have used our own medical knowledge to explain things to our children in an age appropriate manner.

“So we decided to write and independently publish our own children’s books to help children like our two as we know that there are lots of families where someone is waiting for a transplant.”

According to NHS Blood and Transplant there are currently more than 6000 people in the UK waiting for a transplant.

H is for Haemodialysis, P is for Peritoneal Dialysis and K is for Kidney Transplant are all available on Amazon.

The family have now published new versions which include extra notes for parents and professionals.

Mrs Howell said: “We think these notes would be especially helpful to newly diagnosed families and to schools, nurseries, out of school clubs and anywhere where there are other adults supporting children with a seriously ill family member.

“All the books have been well received, we have had great feedback on our Facebook page.

“We would love to write more and I have just finished the first draft of B is for Breast Cancer.

“However to enable us to get this published and to get our current books more widely available and accessible to the children who need them we need to get a literary agent or publisher interested.”

More details about the books are available via Facebook MeetLucyandJack.