Increasing Efforts

There is a lot I want to blog about right now. There were three subjects fighting in my mind to be the subject of today's entry but, then, something happened that blew them all to the back of the queue to be blogged about later in the week.

The children and I spent today at the seaside today with a fantastic lady and her beautiful daughter, incorporating a Gifts of Life photo shoot. I checked in on Facebook and my emails while I was downloading the photos and there was some absolutely awesome news waiting for me to hear. Gabrysia is out of intensive care and recovering well from her heart transplant last week. There was an email from someone who has become a great friend and who I am really fond of with some really amazing personal news - you know who you are and YAY :) :)!!!! But the very best thing of all was that, there right on the top of my Facebook home page, was an update from the very special Jess saying that she had arrived at Harefield Hospital having been called for the double lung transplant she so desperately, desperately needs. I could not have been more pleased, excited and nervous that this was going to be THE call for Jess. This is a girl who knows the routine very well. She has been waiting for her transplant for four years now and has had seven false alarms. When I met Jess, three months ago, she had just had her last falsea alarm. She has been very unwell several times since then and has been very close to dying more than once. Jess has a lung capacity so low that the best breath out she can muster has less than the power of the fizz when you open a coke can! So, this HAD to be the call for Jess. Inbetween getting William ready for bed and sorted out, I kept checking Facebook for the latest news. I was totally gutted when, there it was, this was Jess's eighth false alarm!! The donor had deteriorated too fast so, despite being already brain dead and on the life support, no organs could be saved before the heart stopped beating. My thoughts and prayers are with this family tonight who did make that choice to save lives in their moment of tragedy and then lost even that chance to hold onto something positive in their day. My thoughts and prayers are with Jess and her family too. Jess will be the first to admit that her time is running out. She is 20 years old and it is unlikely that she could wait a further three months for another transplant call. Please join me in either praying or sending some very positive thoughts that she doesn't have to wait that long.

I made a promise to Jess today that I will work harder than ever before to make sure I do all I can to raise awareness and get her those new lungs. I know there are many others doing the same. So, I am now thinking of more ways 'Gifts of Life' more effective than ever and other things I can do to help people like Jess. I have to think quickly though, Jess doesn't have much time.