On the fifth day of Christmas, my donor gave to me…a voice.
I have had three liver transplants. I have had three donors, three donor families and three opportunities to continue with the life I love.
The first transplant, although I was just eight, gave me a passion and desire to raise awareness for not only organ donation, but living – living fully, living well, with love and gratitude and hope and joy.
The second transplant, just a year after, sparked something even more inside me. Something that really made me want to help change how people think about life and death and how they can be affected by organ donation.
The third transplant, or the knowledge that I would need a third, strengthened my passion even further. It changed something in me, and put this campaign as a top priority – next to school and studying for A Levels, of course (just in case any teachers are reading!).
It is the stories I hear of people being on the transplant waiting list for months – or years – with no calls for a donor. The donor families who tell us that donation has helped them to find strength in their grief. The families of recipients, who can watch their loved ones live life fully. The people at the Transplant Games, and the atmosphere of gratitude and the zest for life we all have. These are the stories that keep me and the Live Loudly team doing all of this. They are the stories that we need people to hear.
So, my donors have sparked this passion in me. But they have given me a voice, and the strength to use my voice for change. I will continue to use it and make the most of it for as long as I can.
I hope that we can all use the voice we have, for good, and to change what we can in this world.
You sign up, I’m signing off,
Lucia x