4th Lungaversary

This Sunday (5th March) marks 4 whole years since I received my 2 beautiful lungs! 

Love Life : Gift Life

In April last year, myself and 3 of my lung transplant recipient friends. Shaylene, Alice and Siobhan started an NPO called Love Life;Gift Life (LLGL). We are all passionate about organ donation and want to heighten the level of organ donor awareness in South Africa.

Why 2016 doesn't suck!

Let's face it, the world seems to have had a pretty rough 2016 and a lot of people have also had a bad year in their personal capacities. My year was by no means perfect but I can't say it was awful. It's actually quite hard for me to have a bad year now that I can actually breathe! Pre-transplant my life really wasn't ideal and now that I have working lungs, I am the happiest of bumble bees.

If you and your loved ones are healthy, you have everything! Yes, we all need money to survive and that can be very stressful, but too often do people forget the difference between NEED and WANT. If you have everything you NEED then you are far more blessed than the majority of the world. Whenever you are feeling down or that it's been a bad year, look at what you have, not what you don't have.

I have seen so much suffering this year in the lung transplant community. In the last 2 weeks, 3 friends have passed away. First was Lorraine, whom I got to know whilst I was waiting for a donor. She had her double lung transplant just after me and unfortunately had quite a few medical issues which she eventually succumbed to recently. Next was Kirstie Tancock who I have been following on social media for years and is someone I truly looked up to. She has a really incredible story, having had a double lung transplant and then beginning a career of pole fitness only to then need another double lung transplant! She then went back to pole fitness for a few years but sadly she has passed away from rejection. You can read more about her amazing life and last words here - 2nd Chance At Life. Last but not least was Odette who I never got to meet but she is in a whatsapp group with a few of us and I got to know her through that. She had been in hospital for about 10 months and had gone through so much pain and suffering before she passed away. Heart breaking :(

Odette, Lorraine, Kirstie

For these girls, 2016 was their last year in this world and for their families left behind it is most certainly a tragic year that they will never forget.

The thing about pain and tragedy is that it's all relative. When you have experienced so much pain and suffering, your tolerance becomes a lot higher and it takes a lot more to hurt you. Not everyone has had the 'opportunity' to experience true suffering so I understand that my tolerance of what a bad year encompasses of is very different to the average person.  However, everyone has experienced pain or loss of some sort, so I encourage you to revisit those feelings and then compare 2016 to that. If you had financial, romantic or personal troubles this year that has lead you to believe it's been a bad year then remember - you are alive and that's a better year than others have had.

Losing these special ladies has been hard, but I also know of some deserving humans that have finally had their transplants this year and for them, 2016 will be one of the best years of their lives!

2016 doesn't suck. There have been tragedies but there have also been miracles. Don't get caught up focusing on the negative.

My 2016 has been amazing. I have had incredible work opportunities which have not only grown my skill set and confidence but also my network of friends. Travis and I moved in together and we have been so happy living together. I love our little home, it's small and nothing fancy but it's ours and it's filled with love and happiness. I finally got a cat, after wanting one for so long and Dooku is just the most handsome of cats (*In South Africa) and he really does fill the last bit of my heart with joy. 

I know that my good health isn't guaranteed and that life can change in an instant so I try and make the most of every single day. My wish for all of you in 2017 is that you have a great year and where there is darkness you see only light xx

RIP Jenna Lowe

It's been a month since the extraordinarily inspiring, Jenna Lowe passed away.

Life Expectancy

Before my transplant, no one really asked me what my life expectancy was. It was just a socially unacceptable question to ask someone who was dying. My doctors also didn't discuss it with me as we all knew the answer all too well. The answer was "any day".

Lungaversary week

On Thursday the 5th of March it will be 2 years since I recieved my new lungs and my whole life changed.

Marie Claire Dec 2014 Issue

Forever In My Heart

As Movember comes to an end, something made me think of this picture:

Caleigh (left) Dominique (right)

Medical Miracles

This month Discovery Health have featured me online as well as in their magazine. I have been with this medical aid for quite a few years now and without them, my transplant wouldn't have been possible! 

Discovery Magazine Article

#LoveChange

"I want to tag Fawn from Deer Delights to share her #LoveChange story.  If you dont know, I met Fawn at her #ChariTea event on Woman’s Day.  The event was in aid of The South African Organ Donor Foundation, a charity very close to Fawn’s heart (or lungs as the case may be), as she is an organ donor recipient!"  - Gina A Bit Of This A Bit Of That

Finesse August Issue 2014

Somehow I was asked to do an interview for an afrikaans magazine, Finesse. I can't speak a work of Afrikaas so I did the interview in english and it was translated. For all of those who, like me, can't understand what the article says, here is the english translation (Or so I was told - hopefully it's correct)

'Modern Family's' Sarah Hyland - Kidney Transplant

Modern Family actress Sarah Hyland had a kidney transplant in April 2012.

Slightly puffy cheeks (like me) from her rejection meds. 

The 21-year-old actress, who plays Haley Dunphy in the US TV show, told the new issue of America's Seventeen magazine that she underwent the operation after battling kidney dysplasia her whole life.
Hyland also revealed she got the kidney from her father, actor Edward James Hyland, ahead of the procedure on April 13th.

First "ChariTea" Event

The very first (of hopefully many) ladies high tea event will be on Woman's day, Saturday the 9th of August at Bella. All profits made will go to the Organ Donor Foundation which they will use for their EMERGENCY FLIGHT FUND to fetch organs from distant places, ORGAN REFERRALS EDUCATION for emergency rooms, and their PUBLIC AWARENESS INITIATIVE aimed at raising more registered organ donors such as you!

Inspirations

When you have a disease such as cystic fibrosis, one of the things that gives you hope is seeing others in the same position as you, doing well.

Organ Donation

My Lungaversary is around the corner and as a gift to me, I want you ALL to sign up as an organ donor.