The British Transplant Games

We have been very busy since my last post. We had a few more wet but lovely days at Mum and Dad's AKA Grandma and Grandad's and then we were off the the British Translant Games. The games opened on William's 5th birthday, a birthday I am pretty certain we may not have seen were it not for his transplant coming when it did. The games were amazing, emotional, inspiring... I will blog properly about them but it has all be crazy busy since. I took photos and have been writing, hoping to get an article out about the wonderful children in the Birmingham Children's Hospital team who have now won the children's trophy at the games for 14 years in a row! You can see my pictures here I hope they show something about what a fantastic weekend the games are and how much everyone takes from them.

William certainly took a lot from the games, especially seeing other children who have had transplants like him. He loves Aaron and calls him his 'transplant brother'. We are going to participate in the UK Transplant Sports activities as much as possible as we all had a really great time. William enjoyed meeting people but was somewhat reluctant when it came to running. Quickly realising that his physical limitations were going to mean he came last by a long way, he decided to come last in style and go as slowly as he could, much to the amusement of the crowd who had been urged by the announcer to support the youngest competitors. William enjoyed the ball throw more and did very well to come 4th, nearly getting the bronze medal. He did get participators medals in the sportshall for the obstacle course and in the tug of war. He was featured in our local paper, where they made a bit more about the medals that his did get than I just did. You can read the article here accompanied by one of my photos. A few from the games have made it into print which is really exciting. I learned a huge amount form the seasoned pros who were there covering the event and aim to build on this straight away...watch this space.

I am hugely proud of William and of the whole Birmingham team and the fantastic staff that give up their own time to manage them right from the application process through the games themselves. If the games ever come near you, do go along and see it for yourself. It is easy to forget that all those 2000+ adults and children taking part are only alive because of the kindness of their donor families. When you do remember for a second, it is impossible to stop the tears from coming.