It's been a while... But I'm back again.
You know how builders build for a living, but get the work done at home? or pc engineers - great at their job, but get them to fix the home pc.... Well, I'm a paid blogger...
It's been a busy few months. And fun.
I have been visiting universities over the last few months, and I'm really proud of number 1 son, who, within 2 weeks had received 3 offers, with an interview at no. 4 - and no 5, actually doesn't offer the exact course he wants!! We thought it was going to be really tough because of 2011 being the last intake for "low" university fees, so it has been really exciting.
What we have learned though, is that out of the 4 AS levels you may start with, it is so important to "drop" the right subject. Obvious? Yes! But without going into details about how we got to this, number 2 child and I will start looking at university courses from next year as she starts her ASs. Not so that she makes her life decision at 16, but so that she knows what options there are available and can then start to make an informed decision when she needs to in 2012 (for a 2013 intake into uni-if that's what she would like) !
Summer - wise, as in dog, not season, we've been working towards the Kennel Club Siver award. Ready and willing, it then snowed on the day of the test. So when classes start again in the new year, hopefully we'll get the chance again.
Being chair of LISTEN, the fund of the King's College Hospital Charity dedicated to supporting pre and post liver transplant patients, has been really rewarding. At the beginning of November, I went to Birmingham with Mr W for a day, representing King's and our support group. It was a meeting of liver transplant support groups from all over the country, and various questions were set to us:
How, what, when, should the NHS tell liver transplant (ltx) patients that they may have a high risk donor? More people (the general public) have fatty livers, drink more and have diabetes, so whilst they and their families are magnificent for considering to donate their organs, there are now more risks than ever for the recipient of the organ. DON'T let this comment stop you signing to the organ register if you do have any of the above - life evolves, and there are other organs in your body that can be used... and of course, if you turn unhealthy living to healthy living, your liver (my area of interest!!) can/will regenerate...!
A very contraversial area discussed, and it's not a secret, is to do with acute alcoholic liver disease. This is not to be confused with alcoholic related liver diseases. "Acute" means rapid onset, and acute alcoholic liver failure is a fatal disease most often found in the young who experiment with alcohol, as so many teens do, but their body just cannot handle it and their liver very quickly start to "die" and don't regenerate. THis is NOT older people who have been drinking for years and their liver slowly starts to deteriorate until, because they won't or can't stop drinking - or it's too late when they realise what is happening to them - which are alcoholic liver related diseases.
Well the situation is that currently, if a youth is diagnosed as having acute alcoholic liver disease, they will NOT be transplanted. They face certain death, with the exception of a few very rare cases.
SO the question put to us in Birmingham was, should the NHS run a trial of 20 subjects from possibly 4 different units, offering them a donation having undertaken strict psycological evaluation and following through their after care to ascertain if the NHS should consider transplating people with this disease, if successful, in the future.
What do you think? I had a very strong view on this, put across my feelings..and you will most likely be suprised by my response...
Also for LISTEN we had an amazing offer from GlaxoSmithKline! "One of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer", GSK encourage their staff to work in the community and pay them for a day that they dedicate to charity work".
So one day, following a number of weeks preparation, 20+ of their UK office staff arrived in Denmark Hill and spent an "Orange Day" decorating the six bedrooms at the LISTEN Lodges - used by the families of liver transplant patients accompanying their loved one who has had to be rushed to King's either because they are so ill they need to be in liver intensive care, or because they are to have a liver transplant.
The GSK staff were beautifully organised - all thanks to Andy - and a team was allocated to each room and they painted the ceilings, walls and woodwork. I had purchased new bedding, some new lamps, and various other bits and peices for the rooms, and when the painting had been done, the Upper Lodge recarpeted, and the furniture put back in place - with the help of Mr & Mrs V - we were then able to "dress" the rooms - and they looked fab! Thanks to Wendy and J too..
Well the reason and inspiration for writing this blog entry today, is that Andy S was put on the transplant list in September. Yesterday, the LISTEN committee and I went to look at the Relatives Room in the liver unit, which we have allocated about £3k (half of cost) to the refurbishment of.
There in front of us, as we entered the ward, was Andy!! Up, walking, and transplanted..
I will NEVER..EVER.. stop being amazed at the speed of recovery from such a serious operation. And will never cease to be amazed by peoples generosity to consider donating their organs after death..and even more so, those who then make that life changing decision when their loved one has died, to give others that one thing we all need and want...life xx
