Lady Bug

I had a lovely day on Friday at my friends wedding.  It was a great day, the weather was beautiful and there was a fantastic atmosphere at the reception with everyone on the dance floor all night.  I had my new shoes with the tiny ladybirds on them, with a polka dot dress.  A lady said to me that she had been admiring my shoes all day and that in fact she thought I just looked like a 'little lady bug'.  I took it as a compliment haha.

        

I have been really busy with ball organising this week and we have a few things more organised now.  It's taking shape nicely :-)   I am a little anxious about selling enough tickets but I am sure we will manage it and it will be a fab night.  Remember and keep raffle prizes for me and let me know about tickets asap!

I have also been working on the booklet and the drug company are happy to print whenever it is ready - I have said 2 months, so by the end of Summer.  Emily doesn't know this yet so guess she will be reading it here hehe...    I am going to see Emily this week  - I have not seen her since the walk last year!  Myself and Andrew are heading down to London for a couple of nights and then going over to Emily's for a wee visit.  We are both on annual leave so thought a few nights away would be a nice break - at least the weather is nicer down south after the constant rain we have had.  It will at least stop us painting for a while.

I did manage to finish the big canvas for mum although now she wants one for the other bedroom...

Book Your Tickets Now!!

Masquerade Ball

Friday 29th October - Door open 7pm, Meal at 7.30pm

Oran Mor, Great Western Road, Glasgow

(amazing venue - old converted church - check out their website - we have the auditorium)

Tickets: £50 each, includes 3 course meal, wine and entertainment.  Also raffle, auction and more...

It is only 3 months away and we need to start confirming numbers and collecting monies soon (deposits etc to pay) so tickets are officially available for booking now.   Details of payment will be available shortly.

For my personal friends and family - please contact me direct as I have an allocation of tickets to sell.  Tables seat 12 so if you have a group of 12 then an entire table can be reserved.

For interested readers of my blog please email us at lltgl.glasgow @ gmail.com  to purchase tickets or enquire further.

We need your support to make this event a big success  -  we can guarantee you a fantastic evening!

Masquerade Ball

My friend Victoria, who just had her transplant 2 months ago,  came up with the fantastic idea of a Masquerade Ball in aid of LLTGL.   Myself and Kirsty, who had her lung transplant last year and is another Scottish LLTGL advocate,  have joined forces to make this a huge success.  We have Team Glasgow in action :-)

There are tentative offers of a venue in Glasgow but this is to be confirmed. It will be a formal ball, with sit down three course meal and entertainment provided.   We are planning on a silent auction and a raffle and/or tombola for smaller prizes to maximise funds raised.   We have been contacting various companies looking for prizes over the last couple of days and have had a few positive responses so far.  We have a Walker short bread hamper, two tickets for Scottish Opera and I am just heading out to Glengoyne Distiller to pick up a 17yr single malt and 4 tickets for their master blender session which normally costs £30 per ticket.  Not bad for a days work ;-)  I think the unique point is that we are three double lung transplant recipients teaming up to raise awareness and I am hoping people will respond to this.

So, can you help???!!  If you work for a large company who may donate a prize or if you have anything yourself you could donate, then please get in touch.  We are looking for any prizes, no matter how small, as we will need lots of smaller things for raffle and tombola/lucky dip.  Of course if anyone wants to help by approaching local shops or businesses then please do so - we welcome any addition to our task force!    If you want to email please use weejaq AT hotmail.com.

Apart from all the ball planning I have mostly been painting.  Oh how much I hate painting wood now!  The doors with glass panels are proving the most tedious as I am either scraping or touching up or sanding down until they look presentable.  Hopefully we are nearly finished downstairs and upstairs should be quicker as it is just skirtings and facings.  I also need to get cracking with the other type of painting as I have some canvases to do for mum, who is changing her decor.  I have bought one giant 100cm x 50cm canvas to go behind my bed at home (it is of course still MY bedroom).  I had to get this in the art shop in town and carried it home myself....on the train.   I took up 4 seats on the train and then had to walk up the town centre with it under my arm, swinging it dangerously about.  It was nearly the same size as me and I am pretty sure people were staring.  It's too hard to park in town though so needs must and I was basically feeling a bit dare devil haha.

Work news is just busy, busy, busy.  I ended up doing a home visit scheduled for 3.30pm at 5pm, even though I finish at 5pm.  I could have just cancelled it but it's not really fair on the lady.  Luckily it is on my way home so I just went straight home after and probably got back at much the same time as usual.   I have also agree to be the staff grade representative at medical division meetings at work - basically sit and listen to the consultants chat about management issues and take forward any staff grade issues.  Myself and Jamie from work are going to share the responsibility and also organise the medical student teaching programme together.  This is good stuff for my CV though!

Well I better go and do something useful.....maybe a drop of painting.

Ten Lessons of Painting

1. Make sure you haven't got paint on your slippers before wandering around the house
2. Make sure you don't have paint in your hair before going to work
3. Make sure you don't have paint on your glasses before going to work
4. Do not use blade from dissection kit (you got at med school) to scrape paint from glass.  It will snap in two.
5. Try to limit the amount of volatile paint substances you inhale.  You may not sleep. At all.
6. Limit the amount of volatile substances the dog inhales.  The dog might not sleep.  At all.
7. Do not allow dogs with ridiculously large and fluffy tails to wander through newly painted doorways
8. Do not avoid changing into old clothes because you are "just going to touch up this bit so wont spill any paint"
9. Do not use fingers to "blend" paint. You are not doing a piece of art work even if the brushes do look similar
10. Make sure the door can shut easily before adding another inch of paint around the edges. It might jam.

Yes, we have been painting and I have learned a  lot through the process - which is far from complete.  There is lots of dark stained woodwork in the house and we have been talking about painting it since we moved in.  We did paint the skirtings and windows in the dining and living room but I really couldn't tolerate the paint fumes pre transplant - to the point I would be coughing up blood the next day.  However we took a notion at the weekend to start work on the hallway which has a stair case, three glass panelled doors (with 15 tiny panes), lots of skirting boards and, including upstairs and downstairs, 10 doorways that need facings painted.  It is a mammoth task!  The wood is stained dark mahogany and makes the hallway very dark so we are priming all the wood and then painting it white/cream satin.   I have given up on the primer because it made my chest feel a bit funny, so Andrew is priming and I am painting with the satin (it's water based so low fumes).  So far I have finished the staircase, which took ages, and one panelled door.  There is a long way to go but already the hall looks brighter and bigger, so we are really pleased with how it is looking.  This is the start of house decorating which has been put off for so long and since we are going to be doing the extension, we thought it best to get started.  There is still no word on building warrant but it can't be too much longer..

It seems to have been a really quick week, probably because been busy painting when not at work.  I caught up with my friend Alison on Thursday which was great and tonight we are going through to Edinburgh for Jennifer's birthday.   Yesterday I met with a psychologist from the sleep research centre in Glasgow whom I arranged to me to discuss a patient, so that was really interesting and I now have a pile of articles to read.  I am rather keen doing that on my day off but I plan to take back the time when I get the chance -probably go in later one morning because the chances of leaving early are pretty remote.  I also had my consultant at work fill in a citation explaining why I should be an affiliate of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, so that was approved and I can now get the journal and attend meetings etc.   You are automatically a member once you sit all the membership exams but my route through psychiatry has been different because I haven't been able to sit the exams yet have been working in this area for a long time and would benefit from membership.  They therefore have the affiliateship to the college as an alternative.  Still costs me a pretty penny though..

Anyway tomorrow is the end of National transplant week so it will be interesting to see what statistics are on the organ donor register sign up rates.  My little poll showed that most of my blog readers were already registered - only 2 said they weren't and one signed as a result of the post.  It is not surprising that readers of my blog are more likely to be registered (I go on about it enough!) but there was also a large proportion of doctors signing the poll after I posted in on the doctors forum - so encouraging to see we at least practice what we preach.  I am probably preaching to the converted via this blog but will consider some other ideas of reaching people who have not been educated about organ donation.  Any thoughts welcome :-)

National Transplant Week

Today marks the start of National Transplant Week so I thought  I would go over some of the reasons people don't sign the donor register and see if I can change a few minds.  If one person signs up after reading this post, then it was worthwhile :)

General Facts

• You can donate kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, pancreas and small bowel - saving up to 9 lives
• Corneal tissue can give someone eyesight
• You can choose not to donate particular organs/tissues
• 94% people agree with donations, 96% would accept an organ - but only 28% are on the register
• 8000 people in the UK are waiting for transplants but less than 3000 are carried out each year

"I have just never got round to it"

Probably the most common reason.  It's not something we tend to talk about in day to day to life and can be a uncomfortable topic.  We are usually too busy to even stop and think about this topic, especially if it not something that has affected your personal life.  New statistics have shown that 96% of the population would accept an organ if they needed a transplant.but only 28% of people have signed the register.  You need to consider if you are willing to accept an organ, are you willing to give? Transplant is not something that happens to "other people" - it is something that could happen to someone close to you or even happen to you.  So don't put it off any longer - sign up online in 2 minutes and make a decision that could change someones life forever.

"I have a donor card already"

The old donor card is not linked to the register - you need to do this online or via telephone.  The card is still useful but cards can become lost or damaged and you may not be carrying it at the time.

"My family would know what I wanted"

Would they really?   40% relatives do not agree to donation because they weren't entirely sure what the person wanted.  Even more important than signing the register is making loved ones aware of your wishes.

"I am too old anyway"

There is no cut off for age - people in their 80s have successfully donated organs and tissues.  The doctors can decide on individual cases so let them make that choice.

"I am too young"

Anyone can sign the register - there is no 'age of consent'.  Relatives would always be consulted in every circumstance, so again discussing with loved ones is the most important factor.

"I have a medical condition and/or take medication"

Most people with medical conditions can still donate - professionals will decide which organs would be suitable.  The only conditions which prevents donation is HIV and CJD.

"I wasn't allowed to even give blood - surely I wouldn't be able to donate organs?"

The criteria for blood and organ donation are completely different so don't let this put you off!

"They might not try and save me if I could be an organ donor"

The doctors first duty is to care for you - the treating doctors will not even be aware whether you are on the organ donor register.  This information would only become available after you died, at which point a different team of medical staff would assess for organ donation.

"My organs might go to someone in another country"

Organs would only be offered to other European countries if there is no match with anyone in the UK.  This ensures that organs are not wasted, and that UK patients are also offered organs from other countries under the same circumstance.  Believe me, as someone who waited 2 years for my lungs, I would accept organs from any country!

There are lots of reasons affecting peoples decision to sign the register so feel free to ask any questions you might have.  Could I ask people to click on my poll as to whether they have signed the register, have not or have now signed as a result of this post.   Can I also ask people to leave me a comment with reasons they have not signed the register (you can do this anonymously) so I can get a clearer idea of peoples concerns.   I am not here to talk people into signing the register - my aim is just to make sure you have all the facts in order to make an informed decision.  I do not believe people should be forced to donate - it is a gift that must be given freely and there cannot be a more important gift than this - the gift of life.

Click HERE to sign the register