Transplants, medals, and mums…

Eighth day of Christmas.  Two guests with musical contributions today, Zoe and Alicia.

Our first is Zoe, a friend who seems to muster remarkable reserves of energy to train for competitive table tennis, and win an impressive medal and trophy count while also managing a rigorous renal dialysis regime.  That takes its toll, and more than the medals might suggest.  Zoe helps to raise awareness about chronic kidney disease, and organ donation, through her Instagram and Facebook platforms, “Keeping it renal”.  Have a look – but listen to Zoe’s and Alicia’s contributions before you leave us!

“The first song that comes to mind is The Climb, by Miley Cyrus. It talks about moving forward. ‘There’s always gonna be another mountain, I’m always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I’m gonna have to lose, ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side…it’s the climb.’

The second song for me is one I connect with my mum donating me my first (kidney) transplant. You make it real, by James Morrison. ‘Everybody’s talking in words I don’t understand, you got to be the only one who knows just who I am. You’re shining in the distance, I hope I can make it through, ’cause the only place that I want to be…is right back home with you.”

A Little Too Much, by Shawn Mendes.  This is my soundtrack right now. I feel I relate to this and it empowers me to continue because ‘soon the fog will clear up’.  And it shows that it is okay not to be okay.
And then the official theme song from the World Transplant Games in Durban, South Africa,  Our hearts are beating (YouTube link.)  When I feel down about how life is now (with the dialysis and health worries), I listen to this to remind me of everything I have achieved during the life my first transplant gave me. And I look forward to what I hope to achieve when I get my next.
Zoe BuchananZoe, “keeping it renal” with medals and tubes…
 Today’s second guest is Alicia, also a World Transplant Games champion and friend, (and should have medals for both).  
“Took me a bit of time to think as so many different songs meant so many different things!  I decided on the song Que sera, sera, by Doris Day.   It’s a song that I have been sung all through my life, especially when I was little by my mum.  However, it became even more prevalent when I was ill as the lyrics are ‘whatever will be, will be, the future’s not ours to see, que sera, sera.’  And I have always associated it with the closeness of me and my mum.  Throughout my transplant and transplant journey she was always by my side.  More so, the transplant life is never something you really ever expect for yourself but something that you have to deal with if you have been dealt that destiny, and something I couldn’t have done without my mum by my side.”
Lucia and Alicia Armstrong WTG Newcastle August 2019 (crop)Alicia (rht), with Live Loudly Donate Proudly  founder and friend, Lucia (left)
World Transplant Games, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2019