I did it!

Well I've waited quite along time to write this blog and now I have no idea how to word it?

I did it? I made it onto the transplant list, I'm now active on the transplant list waiting for a double lung transplant. It doesn't even seem real to type that, I don't think it's actually sunk in yet, that I will actually get new lungs and I will live. That is if a donor is found for me in time.

My news came yesterday afternoon after a tearful morning. I discovered that one of my friends Joanne had passed away in the night, Jo was on the transplant list waiting for lungs. She had had a tough time getting listed herself , I supported her through that. Just a few hours after discovering she had passed away I went active on the transplant list, life at times puzzles me so much.So off I went to clinic yesterday, we got there early and stopped in the cafe for a coffee then almost got lost in the corridors trying to find our way to clinic. My co-ordinator was hanging around in the waiting room, I don't actually get to see her that much, she doesn't do my consultant's clinic that often so it was nice to catch up with her I asked if my tissue typing was back and she said it was. It was at that point the penny dropped and I thought 'oh god, there is actually nothing stopping me going on the list now...' But I put it out of my mind and got talking to a lady beside me who had Alpha 1. She had been on the list 2yrs already.

I went in to see my consultant and he went through last minute details mentioning my gallstones could be due to weightloss and so on. But that there was no inflammation in my gall bladder and it looked ok, I did, if I admit, zone out a bit, as a watched the goings on out of the window a stark comment brought me back to my chair "shall we just do it then? Shall we go for it and get you on the list? stop dragging our feet ah?" before I could collect myself to think of a sensible reply I just raised my eyebrows and simply said "erm yes please?" and that was that. The appointment was no longer than 10minutes, I bumped into my co-ordinator in the corridor and she shouted "Rachael?" and put her thumbs up and I nodded and put mine up. The co-ordinator that was in with us took my 'transplant line' number. I have put an unused sim card into an old phone and I'm reserving that number just for transplant calls. Just so I don't jump everytime there's an unknown number flashes up on my phone!
Which at the moment is happening alot because the lovely Sarah Milne kick started the LLTGL Christmas appeal today with a press release on my story (click here to view it). My mobile has been ringing off the hook! The MEN have snapped up my story and are coming round for a photoshoot tomorrow.
So that is it now, now I wait, wait for a donor, for a hero to save my life. My story is now also on the LLTGL website, go have a look here. If you sign up to the organ donor register you could be my hero so go sign up here!

I'll leave you with a picture that Sammi took last week during the photoshoot, many more to come.