Teen with four kidneys training to be paramedic

A teenager who was born with four kidneys has said she wants to "give back" to the community as a trainee paramedic.

Charley, 17, from Darlington has a rare congenital condition which means she has two functioning kidneys and two, golf ball-sized ones which are not fully-formed.

The Darlington College student was inspired to start a paramedic apprenticeship at Teesside University because people have treated her "really well" and she wanted to repay the kindness.

"I've always been in the back of an ambulance so this time, I want to be in the front of the one," she said.

The teenager also has another rare condition Madelung's deformity which affects the bone in her wrists and forearms.

So far she has had 10 operations, and said she was once told her connecting tubes "looked like spaghetti junction".

"Having four kidneys isn't so much a problem now I'm older, it's more the bone condition I have," she told BBC Radio Tees.

She said she also may need more time to complete exams at university and the condition does "ache from time to time".

"I just want to help people and give back," Charley said.

"People have treated me really well and I want to treat other people really well."

She said she also wanted to inspire others and "prove people wrong".

"People will tell us that we can't do things like this but in the end we actually can," she added.

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