Christmas Magic

I'm very interested in all things medical and especially in transplants as some of you will know. You also might have seen a few months ago I was including the hash tag #savejess in most of my tweets. This is the story of why. And more importantly, of a little bit of a Christmas Miracle.

Two of my friends had Cystic Fibrosis and had extra time due to transplants. I also know of two others whose lives have benefited through loved ones having transplants (the mother of a once acquaintance and the son of someone I met through CAB training several years ago - I've lost touch with both people now). Those experiences especially with my own friends have made me a strong believer in transplantation.

A lot of the blogs I read are either related to disability or otherwise medically involved. Not all of them, I also read some crafty ones and some diet ones as well as one or two hard to classify ones. But I do read several blogs by people who have had or who are waiting for transplants. And of a couple of people with CF.

One of the people I became aware of some time ago through various different blogs and also a few bits on TV is Jessica Wales.

She has CF and for some reason reminds me a lot of one of my friends who had CF. I've been following Jess on her facebook group and she's been really poorly. She's been on the transplant list since she was 16. 4 years later she's now 20 and had 9 calls where the transplant couldn't go ahead. Given that she was told she had two years to live when she went on the list it shows what a fighter she is. The last update I read last night was that she was seriously struggling and really made me think that this morning I'd read that she'd been one of the three people who died yesterday whilst waiting for transplant (the shortage of organ donors means that 3 people die whilst waiting for a transplant every single day in the UK).

At literally the 11th hour for Jess she received her transplant last night and is currently stable in ITU.

I wanted to share that story because it touched me so much and because even though I've believe in organ donation for as long as I can remember it reminded me of why it is so important.

You can read more about Jess on her facebook group - search for Jessica Wales Rocks My Socks or click this link.

For more information about organ donation you can visit Live Life Then Give Life

Or to sign the organ donor register go here.