Jun 17 2012 By Maggie Barry

Rita Madhok with husband Rajan

HER enthusiasm, passion and laughter drew even strangers to her…Rita Madhok loved people and they returned her warmth in spades.

Today, that same energy and zest which made Rita – better known as Sunday Mail astrologer Darlinda – so special has kept her friends and family working tirelessly for the charity launched in her name.

As the fundraising for renal research approaches the £1million mark, they can be satisfied that she would have been a very happy woman.

Her husband Rajan said: “There are so many times when we have said to ourselves, ‘It’s almost as if she is still with us.’

“She would have been absolutely thrilled by how much money we have raised in her name and she was always very grateful for anything anybody did to help, no matter how small.

“She was driven to care. Even when she was ill and I would tell her to slow down, she would say, ‘There are other people who are not as lucky as we are and don’t have the same support.’

“She was determined to do something to help them.”

As psychic and clairvoyant Darlinda, for 16 years Rita was known across ­Scotland as the Sunday Mail’s much-loved astrologer.

She died in 1995 after suffering diabetes which led to kidney failure.

For years she was on dialysis, a debilitating and time-consuming treatment but – transplant apart – the only way to stay live.

Rajan, a doctor, said: “When you are in renal failure, you are just totally nauseated, feeling sick and ghastly all the time.

“She would go up to the Western Infirmary in Glasgow for her ­appointments feeling awful.

“In 1987 her life was transformed by a transplant and we had eight to nine excellent years.

“It was a good time and it made such a difference to her life, from one day being tied to the dialysis to the next when she was up and about again.

“It is really life-changing but she did not forget what it had been like before and she wanted to do something to improve the facilities available to patients and make it a more comfortable
environment – less clinical.”

The result was the establishment of Darlinda’s Charity for Renal Research – which began with her seven-month-old nephew, who did a sponsored crawl across the living room floor.

It took off when her good friend Sir Hugh Fraser waded in with a “substantial” cheque and the annual balls began. The events have been the charity’s main ­fundraiser over the years.

One of the first things bought by Darlinda and friends was the kidney unit’s ultrasound machine. Until then, renal patients had to trek to the basement of the hospital to get an ultrasound of their kidneys at X-ray.

Rajan said: “Lots of people knew Rita and there were humble beginnings – people just doing little things – then the realisation that we were serious and then Sir Hugh came on board as our first major benefactor.”

By the time of her death in 1995, Rita had raised almost £200,000 by her ceaseless fundraising efforts.

Rajan said: “Transplanted kidneys have a limited lifespan and it was a combination of things arising at the same time – vascular complications – but the kidney basically began to fail.”

Rita went out as she had lived her life – with her family and friends around her and a bottle of champagne in a bucket by the bedside.

Rajan said: “We had a very good life and were able to do lots of things. The charity formed an important part of that because we were so grateful for the gift of life and Rita felt it was so important to ­reciprocate and give something back to people who were not so fortunate.”

Over the years the charity have supplied immediate help to kidney patients, purchasing home ­dialysis machines and setting up a patient comfort fund to buy little things that would make life better on the ward.

They tend to support initial – usually unsupported – research, helping scientists secure further funding. They have funded labs and stem cell research and studies into the links between heart problems and renal failure.

They have even funded the Transplant Games and are the biggest single supporter of the kidney unit at the Western Infirmary.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the charity and is, appropriately, the year in which they look like bursting through the £1million mark. The total raised to date is around £950,000.

Next Saturday endurance runner Charlie Gordon will add to that total by trying to complete 95 miles of the West Highland Way in less than 35 hours.

On November 10 the annual Dynasty Ball should take the total through the barrier.

Rajan said: “It is going to be a wonderful feeling.

“I hope we can share with all the friends who have helped us get to this moment.”

CHARLIE GORDON

Endurance runner Charlie Gordon is going a long way to edge Darlinda’s charity towards the magic million.

He is taking part in the annual West Highland Way race, which sets runners off along the 95 miles of the walkway with only 35 hours in which to complete it.

The 43-year-old has done part of the route before as a support runner, motivating other runners to the finish line.

But this year, for the first time, he will take on the whole route and try to finish it in 28 hours.

For that, Charlie, a commercial manager with structural steel firm J D Pierce, hopes to hand over at least £2000.

But it will be no picnic – and the weather as well as the midges can be crucial.

Charlie said: “It’s easy to lose two hours at a stop having a cup of soup, changing your shoes or putting on midge spray.

“Then there are the sleep and endurance issues and keeping fuelled up.

“You’ve got to get calories into you and anything from 150 to 200 calories an hour is challenging. The trick is to eat little and often and to keep moving forward.”

The race starts on Saturday at 1am in Milngavie, near Glasgow, and has strict protocols.

Runners must have completed at least one 50-mile endurance race before and have support runners to race alongside at different points on the route as well as a motorised back-up team.

If all goes well, Charlie will cross the finishing line in the early hours of Sunday morning – and Darlinda’s charity will be £2000 richer.

He said: “The challenge in these things is if the wheels come off and, between your team and your own
mental strength, it’s getting the wheels back on.

“There are lots of different ways you can come a cropper but I want to finish well for the charity.

“At the end of the day, that’s what’s important.”

LARURA RITCHIE

No one knows better than Laura Ritchie just how vital Darlinda’s charity is.

It is there for big things such as research projects – and for little things such as DVD players when you are spending the long, hard hours in dialysis.

When she was 21, Laura was struck down by vasculitis, an auto-immune disorder that attacks the blood vessels in any part of the body – in Laura’s case, it was her kidneys.

She was put on dialysis but was so ill her parents and boyfriend were told she might not last the night.

Laura fought back and over the next two weeks was given seven blood transfusions – but her life changed dramatically.

She had been studying in Madrid but had to come home as she needed dialysis three times a week for five hours. The break in her studies meant she had to start the year again the following September.

Laura said: “It was a big life shock and change.”

In the meantime, a family friend had come forward and was found to be a match for Laura, which resulted in a frantic time.

She said: “I sat my last exam on Monday, got my transplant on the Friday and graduated five weeks later. It was amazing.”

Laura, an accountant with Tennent’s, was drafted in to explain to people how important funding is for the unit at the Western Infirmary.

To date, her transplant is good and two years ago she married childhood sweetheart Callum.

She said: “No one knows how long a kidney will last. That’s what makes Darlinda’s so important – they work all the time to help people like me.”

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