Our family's fight to beat cruel disease
Losing two members of one family to the same disease is heartbreaking enough.
But the Turners from Staffordshire then had to cope with the news that three more had been diagnosed with it.
Now though they are using their experience battling polycystic kidney disease to help others and raise cash to fund research into the hereditary disease that has struck four generations.
Thirty-seven-year-old Craig Turner and his three-year-old son Charlie from Chasetown are both being treated for the condition.
Mr Turner's father Phillip died of a brain haemorrhage caused by the disease 14 years ago, aged 42, and his grandmother Jean died before him of the same condition.
Debbie Turner, his sister is also suffering from the disease, which causes cysts to grow on the kidneys.
Now Craig's wife, 33-year-old Kay Turner is now raising money for the Polycystic Kidney Charity in the hope that new drugs will be developed to battle the condition.
Craig only found out he had the disease when he was being checked by doctors after volunteering to donate a kidney to his sister.
And shortly after Kay found out she was pregnant - and then discovered unborn Charlie would have the same condition.
Despite the devastating impact PKD has had on her family, Kay says they want to use their experiences to help the thousands of people across the country that are affected by it each year.
The disease can have varying levels of seriousness - but there is little medication available to treat it at its more serious stages.
It can cause enlargement of the kidneys and also damage the liver, pancreas and, in some rare cases, the heart and brain.
Craig, a manager for a delivery firm in Tamworth, is currently continuing with life as normal other than taking blood pressure tablets and having regular check-ups.
And the outlook also looks bright at the moment for their son Charlie as he has so far showed few signs of any effects of the condition, he will be monitored though to check for any symptoms.
Mrs Turner said: "It's so difficult to know what will happen to someone when they get PKD but often they would be expected to live to 40 or 50.
"Charlie is very healthy at the moment but next month we will find out how big the cysts are growing."
She has already generated £1,000 and is hoping that more donations will flood in over the coming weeks.
Kay, 33, took part in the Great Birmingham Run last weekend and has also staged a fundraising fun day that saw her brother Phillip get his eyebrows waxed completely off.
The family are concerned that there is not enough awareness of the disease. Kay will be organising further fundraising events in the coming months and is appealing for donations for the charity.
Mrs Turner added: "We don't think enough people know about PKD so we want to get the message out there.
"It has been really difficult for us and when we found out Craig and Charlie had it we didn't know what to expect.
"But we are keeping going and we want to just do whatever we can to help others now and make sure the medication is there in the future."
She added: "Craig is healthy at the moment but has quite high blood pressure and is being checked every nine months.
"I just really hope that soon there will be some medication available to slow down the growth of the cysts. The charity needs more money so it can start developing more drugs.
"The disease just isn't heard of enough, and the impact it has had on our family shows just what it can do."
Kay is planning to take part in more charity runs but says she needs 'as much help as possible'.