OBITUARY: Ian Marshall, 57 - appeal for mobile dialysis van

Ian, of Haxby, who had undergone two kidney transplants, died on March 28. His funeral was held at York Crematorium on April 21. He leaves behind his widow Hillary and step children Caroline and Jonathan.

Hillary said Ian had been in poor health for several years following his second kidney transplant and relied on dialysis three times a week at York Hospital.

She described Ian as a "happy-go-lucky" man who was "always grinning." She said: "He never dwelt on any of his illnesses."

The couple had been married for 15 years.

Ian attended Ralph Butterfield and Joseph Rowntree schools in York and worked for Huntington Service Station for 15 years and later at Pulleyn Garage in Haxby. His hobbies were cars and photography.

The demands of regular dialysis made it difficult to have holidays so she is now fundraising for a mobile dialysis unit - perhaps in a campervan - so kidney patients in York can have a break and receive their life-saving treatment with convenience.

Ian Marshall, described as "happy-go-lucky" who has died aged 57

She said: "Ian had his second transplant in 2011 but it started to decline and he ended up on dialysis again in 2017. It meant he was tied to the hospital and we couldn't have holidays.

"As a legacy to Ian we want to give families a break and raise enough money to buy a van and kit it out with a portable dialysis machine. It would give lots of people the chance to have a family holiday."

She has set up a Go Fund Me page to get the appeal up and running, which has already raised almost £2,000.

Hillary said she would welcome any donations from readers, or a potential sponsor.

And she added that if not enough money was raised, all donations would go to the renal unit at York Hospital.

Hillary said the couple did try to have holidays, but it was always difficult, because Ian would still have to go to a local hospital three times a week for dialysis which could take several hours at a time. She said: "We went to Cyprus and when he went into hospital for dialysis, I was left by myself - it wasn't much of a holiday."

She added: "To consider holidays, a suitable location had to be found near a dialysis unit and availability had to be confirmed prior to booking. Sometimes confirmation didn’t happen until a week before the allotted holiday period. This can be a very stressful and complicated process that puts many people off trying.

"This legacy will allow patients the freedom to travel further afield for holidays or offer a change of scenery to patients on home dialysis.”

Ian and Hillary on their wedding day

Dr Rebekah Molyneux, consultant in renal medicine at York, said: “There are over 200 patients on haemodialysis in the region and it has been almost impossible for many of them to go on holiday, particularly throughout the pandemic. We would be happy to help Hillary in any way we can and thank her for thinking of other patients when she must be going through such a difficult period. We look forward to meeting with her to discuss these exciting plans.”

Hillary said to achieve the goal would be "fantastic", adding: "Ian would be really proud of me".

Ian's ceremony was conducted by Dave Ambery of Co-Op Funerlcare, Haxby and led by Fiona Brown, Celebrant, Your Ceremony.

Donations in his memory may be made to: https://gofund.me/4fba423a towards a mobile dialysis vehicle for the York Renal Unit.