Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am running the Great North Run 2012 to raise money for The Transplantation Unit at The Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

The Transplant Unit at the Freeman Hospital became an important part of my life in 2009.  It was in 2009 that my father fell very ill with the condition he had been suffering from for the previous seven years: emphysema.  We always knew that his condition was going to get a lot worse, however, nothing quite prepared any of us for what was to come.

 

It is important to understand that my father was a very proud man and would never let life get him down.  He enjoyed his job, and it was extremely hard for him when he was told, in February of that year, that he would have to stop working.

 

From February 2009 my dad regularly visited his consultant and he monitored him closely and provided him with oxygen that he needed to help him get through the day.  It was the Transplant Unit that ensured he had a care team around him whenever he needed them.

 

My father’s consultant cared.  He would often call my dad out of working hours just for a chat to keep him mentally strong and positive.

He was very worried about what his condition would be in July 2009 when I was to get married.  My dad obviously wanted to walk me down the aisle and complete his speech, as any father would!  For those of you at my Wedding, you know that he achieved everything he set out to do and was a very proud father that day, as I was, of him.

 

After the wedding he seemed to go down hill very quickly.  His consultant explained that his condition had started to deteriorate and that we needed to get him accepted onto a lung transplant list- fast!

Within weeks The Freeman Hospital had brought my Dad into the Transplant Unit for a range of routine checks to confirm he was poorly enough, but also healthy enough to survive a lung transplant.  This was when we were told he would be lucky to make the next six months!

 

From the day he left The Freeman Hospital, they were in contact with us everyday.  They were working extremely hard to hurry the process along. However, my father developed a bug and this stopped him from being suitable for any transplant lungs that became available.

 

On November 20 2009 unfortunately, my father passed away.  This was a very sad day.  However, he was an amazing person and a huge inspiration to me!  He was the strongest man I have ever met.  He was someone who took everything in his stride and always stayed positive.  If he could cope with what he had to suffer, then I know I can run 13 mile!! :-)

 

My story is really my dad’s story, and although my story doesn't speak a great deal of the Freeman Hospital, I would like you to understand that they have a fantastic team of people who work very closely together.  They are all hugely intelligent and wonderful people that perform the most amazing work to save the lives of our family and friends.  I am still overwhelmed by the team of 6 or 7 people that attended a meeting to simply confirm the results of tests and personally introduce themselves to us, and explain the procedure of the transplant.  We were also given a direct line to a dedicated nurse that would answer any queries we had at any time.  I am, therefore, raising money for the Transplantation Unit.  I would like to give them my donations so that they can continue improving and developing their systems in order to save many more lives.

 

I would like to thank you for reading my story and donating towards such an amazing cause!

 

Vicki