The Hertfordshire Mercury and Herts and Essex Observer Community Awards

I was very privileged to be invited to attend the Hertfordshire Mercury and Herts and Essex Observer Community Awards on Monday evening, as I had been nominated for an 'Unsung Hero' award because of my campaigning to raise awareness of organ donation and was one of the finalists. 

Rob and Sarah attended with me and we had a wonderful time starting with a drinks reception, where we were made to feel really welcome and then we were spoiled with a lovely three course dinner before the awards ceremony began. We were entertained by a very talented guitarist and singer - Roxy Searle - and we enjoyed some magical tricks during dinner. 

There were a range of categories that people had been nominated for: Carer of the Year, Young Achiever, Unsung Hero, Volunteer of the Year, Good Friend, Lifetime Achievement and Courageous Young Person. It was amazing to hear of all the various accomplishments and achievements that everyone had made - especially those of the children - everyone's stories were truly inspiring. 

All our stories were shared with the audience and I was pleased that the presenters stated some of the facts surrounding organ donation - especially informing the audience of the fact that three people die each day waiting for a transplant. 

I was delighted to be awarded a highly commended 'Unsung Hero' award and received a beautiful bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates too. The winner of my category was a gentleman who suffers with muscular dystrophy and he had set up a foundation which offers experience days for other muscular dystrophy sufferers. 

One of the loveliest things about the whole evening was that we were told to just sit back, relax and enjoy ourselves and we were able to do just that. It was a very memorable and special evening and I think we all came home feeling very relaxed and pampered and that it had been a total pleasure to have been included in the event. 

Of course, the unsung heroes in my world are those that sign up to the organ donation register and those that have given the gift of life. My donor will always be my unsung hero.

More pics in this week's Hertfordshire Mercury

Herts Mercury Community Awards

The Gift of Life

After watching the news this week, the most poignant events that have overridden everything are the terrorist attacks and developments unfolding in Paris. I think this week has brought home to everyone how fragile life can be and just how much we should value every day. It's been shocking to see just on the TV and the thought to have been there amongst it is unimaginable. Paris is a place I love and I have so many happy memories of wonderful times there - it's difficult to associate this violence with such a beautiful and vibrant city.

It's beyond imagination that there are people who have so little value for life - both their own and the lives of others. There are no words to describe the gulf between these militant few and the majority of us ordinary people just wishing to live our lives peacefully. I think of the contrast between our medical staff who fight hard every day to save lives like mine and then those who recklessly destroy it with no care or thought -there isn't a bridge that can cross it. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Paris and everyone affected by the destruction there this week. 

I have had a few clinic visits recently and at my latest one this week was told my new heart and lungs are in pristine condition - so I was thrilled and delighted at that. I'm still juggling problems with high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and now the latest problem is high cholesterol. These have been caused by my immunesuppressant drugs so there's been quite a bit of changing medication and blood tests going on to ensure that things are kept in the best possible order. I was supposed to have an infusion  to help my bones because of osteoporosis, which is another side effect of the drugs, but they couldn't go ahead with it as it's too damaging for my kidneys, so I've been given another oral drug to try and help this instead. It all seems to be all about juggling the medication to keep us patients in optimal condition and I'm pleased I have such a knowledgable team of medics looking after me.

These are all problems that I was made aware about before my transplant and they are all very common amongst transplant patients. It's always been a case of swapping one set of problems for another, but with the hope of having a much better quality of life. My transplant has certainly given me that and I try and value all that my donor has given me every day. To hear the consultant say that my heart and lungs are in pristine condition is a pretty wonderful and encouraging thing. It always brings it home to me how life is so very precious.

A few weeks ago I was nominated for an 'Unsung Hero' award for my local paper's - the Hertfordshire Mercury -  Community Awards. My nomination was for promoting awareness of Pulmonary Hypertension and Organ Donation. It's something of an honour, although the real unsung heroes are my donor, their family and the medical teams that fought so hard to keep me alive. Because of my nomination, the paper did a feature about me and my transplant, so I was delighted that PH and organ donation made it in the papers once more. That's what it's all about for me - raising awareness in the hope that it may help someone else one day - in the same way I've been helped.

I had the wonderful news this week that I am one of the finalists, so once again I'm delighted. Next week we are off to the awards ceremony, which will be held at Hanbury Manor in Ware. I'm delighted because hopefully the causes of PH and Organ Donation will have another mention and to another new audience at the awards ceremony. It's not important to me about winning - it isn't about winning at all - just important that there will be another mention of these causes that are dear to my heart. There will be a drinks reception, dinner and then the awards ceremony, so it will be a lovely event to take part in. It will be a privilege and I'm looking forward to it.


It's been a week that's highlighted just how much life is so precious and needs to be enjoyed and embraced to the full. The gift of life is the most ultimate gift we have.

In the News

Throughout my transplant journey Rob and I have been keen to take opportunities to promote organ donation and the benefits of transplant and we have tried to keep our campaign for more organ donors in the news locally whenever we can. This is a cause very dear to my heart, not only because of my own life saving transplant and the arduous wait I had to endure because of the lack of organ donors, but because I have personal friends who are still facing the same predicament and there are still thousands of people waiting for a new chance in life like myself.

There are circa 10,000 people waiting on the transplant list; 3 people die each day while they wait; over 90% of the population would take an organ if they needed one, yet only 30% or so have officially signed up to the organ donor register; most people are in favour of organ donation and just haven't got round to officially signing up; many people do not share their decision that they wish to donate their organs with their families, leading to a difficult and heart breaking decision having to be made at a most harrowing time and often ending in refusal to donate organs, because it is just too overwhelming to cope with.

In my case, the wait for a suitable donor was also exacerbated by the fact that I needed both a new heart and a pair of lungs. To get a full set of three organs like this that that are fully functional is difficult - one of the pair of organs is often unfit for transplantation- and more often than not organs need to be split up to save more than one life. There is currently an urgent list for patients in desperate need of a new heart and on the news recently there have been calls for a similar urgent list for lungs. It is quite right that those in most need should take priority over those who are able to wait for longer, but at the moment there is no urgent list for those waiting for both heart and lung transplants. They are unable to be placed on the urgent heart list, because they need a pair of lungs too and if an urgent lung list were to be put into place, they will not be able to go on this either as they are in need of a heart. It is an issue that needs addressing, but as reported in the news only last week, only 6 heart and lung transplants were carried out last year, so we are a very small minority group of patients with little voice.

The only way forward at the end of the day is to keep on trying hard to increase the number of organ donors, then everyone can be given a fair chance of survival; by the look of the statistics there is still a long way to go when only roughly 33% of the population have officially signed up, so there is much potential still to increase the numbers on the organ donor register. So with this aim in mind, Rob and I are always keen to take every opportunity to try and promote the advantages of organ donation and try to get people thinking about it and signed up to the organ donor register.

In January we were approached by Hertfordshire Life magazine to feature in an article about Knebworth. This was published in the February issue and the online link is below. The article features three Knebworth residents and their stories, including myself talking about my transplant. 

www.hertfordshirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/life_is_for_living_in_knebworth_1_3434534

The other week I was interviewed by the Hertfordshire Mercury for an article in a series they are doing on saving lives. The first article in their series was about the importance of organ donation and signing up to the organ donor register. The feature highlights the shortage of organ donors and how organ donation can transform lives.

www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/News/SAVE-A-LIFE-CAMPAIGN-Organ-donation-20140306143724.htm

When the Cystic Fibrosis Trust released their campaign for more organ donors and a fairer distribution of donated lungs for those most in need last week, Rob was asked to speak to Bob FM Home Counties, our local radio station, about the benefits of transplant and his interview was aired throughout the afternoon and evening.

We are hoping that with this continuing media attention some people will be motivated to sign up to the organ donor register and we can help shift those figures for those signed up to the organ donor register higher than they currently stand. Let's hope for more lives to be saved and for many more people to be given the wonderful new chance in life that my donor has given to me.