By Claire McAuley, Belfast (Member of NITA)

I was born on 23rd June 1973. After 2 days the doctors and nurses realized that there was something wrong with me. I was blue around the mouth and nose and was having trouble breathing. I was then transferred to the Jubilee Hospital in Belfast. I was diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease. My heart had only 2 pumps and my blood was being pumped around my body the wrong way. My parents were told it was unlikely that I would see my 2nd birthday.

However, against the odds I not only reached my second birthday but with the love and devotion of my parents I was able to attend mainstream school and live a somewhat normal childhood. While I was at school I was still in and out of hospital with chest infections and other childhood illnesses. At 17 I left school and worked in a busy insurance brokers for 4 years but by the third year my health was starting to deteriorate and eventually I had to leave work. For the next 7 years, my health continued to worsen and the death of my father was a crushing blow to me. I was unable to climb stairs and needed a wheelchair to get around. Finally I was told that an heart and lung transplant was my only option.

Four years of anxiety followed as I waited for word of a compatible heart and lungs. Several false alarms only served to increase my frustration. Eventually the call came while I was on holiday in London and I was whisked off to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This time it was not a false alarm. I awoke a day later on 14th April 2003 to find the operation was a success and to begin the slow process of healing. Over the following weeks my family were able to travel back and forth to visit me and help in my recovery. Even though it was a tough time, after 7 weeks I was able to go home to Belfast.

It’s been 7 years now since the transplant and it’s getting difficult to remember just how poor my quality of life had been. I am now able to walk my dog, do housework and enjoy travelling again. Recently I have been able to volunteer for a children’s charity. I work in their offices 3 days a week and I am really enjoying getting back to a normal life. I will have to take anti-rejection pills for the rest of my life but that is a small price to pay for a good quality of health.

None of this would have been possible with out the generosity of my donor and their family. My time was short before my transplant but now I have been given a second chance and I intend to make the most of it, thanks to their wonderful ‘Gift of Life’.