If you have a story that you would like to share with others we would like to hear from you.

My thanks to Lynsey Fenwick for being the first of many, we hope.

Lynsey had a heart and lung transplant in October 1991 at the Freeman.

My Special Day

14 years after having a heart and lung transplant I married a wonderful man called Alex Fenwick on 8 October 2005.

I was born with a congenital heart complaint and hypertension in the lungs and lived a very restricted life as I got older due to tiredness and lack of breath. I had to be taken to and from school in a taxi from the age of 9 - 18 years old.

I gained good grades as school but due to my illness was not well enough to go to University. I had waited 14 months on the transplant list when I received the call from Lyn Holt while I was shopping with my parents in Newcastle town centre, by this time I was in a wheel chair.

 On 21st October 1991 I received my transplant and spent 9 weeks in hospital. I had several ups and downs but was determined to come home for Christmas and start my new life.

After a while I started driving lessons and passed my test first time.   I then started to work in the Medical School, University of Newcastle firstly in Anaesthesia but then moved to Surgery where I work closely with the Immunobiology Research Group and also for Professor Wilson and her Speech and ENT students.

I started going on holiday with my friends (for the first time without any parents) and bought a new car.

I met Alex three years ago. We both enjoy a love for music, theatre and
eating out. He also taught me how to Salsa dance. We were married at Westerhope Methodist Church where I was baptised and my parents and
brother were also married.    Our service was very moving with family, friends and many staff from the Freeman Hospital and the Medical School attending. This was followed by a wonderful reception and evening celebration at Linden Hall Hotel where we all danced the night away.  

Alex surprised me with our honeymoon destination on our wedding day, he had booked a relaxing week in Tenerife and then a Cruise around the
Canary Islands.

I am now settling into married life in my new home in Whitley Bay and I
love living by the seaside. This has all been made possible by my parents care and attention all my life, the wonderful medical team at the Freeman and most of all the Gift of Life from my donor's family.

Best wishes to you all.

Lynsey Fenwick (nee Plant)

November 2006:

Having received this letter it is for you to decide if you wish to be involved and of course your donor family.

Channel 4 - documentary

I'm writing from a television production company named Princess 
Productions. We're currently working on three documentaries about 
organ donation and transplantation for Channel 4.

I was reading through reports from this years' British Transplant 
Games and noticed that some athletes were in contact with their donor 
family.

We're looking for such a story to be included in our documentaries 
and I was hoping that I could have a chat with you to explain the 
premise of our series and why we think a story like this could be 
so good.

It would be great to talk to you further about this. I'm available at 
any time  or you can reply to me at this address.


Kind Regards,

Caroline Davies,
Producer
Princess Productions
Direct Line:   0207 985 1948
caroline.davies@princesstv.com
 

Send mail to graham@fhlta.org.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2004 Freeman Heart & Lung Transplant Association
Last modified: 27-04-2008