A woman diagnosed with a life-threatening kidney condition is determined to fundraise to beat the condition that has plagued her for years.

Nancy Payman, 36, from Finchley, spend her childhood going in and out of Great Ormond Street Hospital due to a rare kidney condition called "nephrotic syndrome", which leads to swelling of body tissue and a greater chance of catching infections due to the kidneys leaking water in the the urine.

Her mother notice her face was puffy and immediately took her to the GP, at age just 15 months.

She said: "At first the GP thought it was an allergic reaction to decongestant capsules. But as the days went on and my condition worsened, it became clear something else was going on.

"I became so swollen that my nappies and clothes no longer fitted me."

Ms Payman was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital and after years of trying all kinds of drugs, there seemed to be little hope of her escaping kidney failure and the need for dialysis and a transplant.

But her paediatrician tried a chemotherapy drug called vincristine, which Ms Payman called the "miracle drug" which sustained her in remission.

Her last admission to GOSH was at age 16, when she was referred to the Royal Free Hospital, but things seemed to have resolved themselves until recently, when she had a relapse.

She said: "When I had my two children a few years ago it crossed my mind that this might affect my body but my pregnancies were both normal.

"I’d been told it was a condition I might grow out of and that’s what I believed had happened.

"But the symptoms were very obvious. I’m quite slim but in just a few days I’d gained two stone in weight due to water retention and was feeling bloated and couldn’t do up my jeans."

Dr Ruth Pepper took over her case, a doctor Ms Payman had met by chance at an engagement party, and the same drug was used again, despite it never being used on another patient with this condition for 20 years.

After several months of treatment, Ms Payman is now back in remission.

She said: "Nothing can repay the hospital for the amazing care and support they give me and so many others but I want to give something back as a way of saying thank you."

She will be taking part in a 15 mile walk around Richmond Park in September to raise money for kidney research at University College Hospital, following in the footsteps of her parents who raised thousands for GOSH.

To support her fundraising visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/walking-for-kidneys