Up The Farway Tree

Emotional Weekend

On Sunday I was speaking at a Family Donor Network event - a gathering of donor families in Scotland.   There was a massive turnout, with around 200 attending.  I was only present for the afternoon but it was very emotional.  Myself and a couple of other transplant recipients spoke about receiving such a gift - I just spoke about my life, what it was like before transplant and what life is like now.  They asked mum to say a few words also, which of course was no problem for her.  Like mother, like daughter.  I was overwhelmed by the warm reaction of the donor families, who felt hearing such stories helped them to feel positive about the decision to donate.  I spoke to a few different families and had some interesting conversations.   For those whose loved ones had previously discussed donation (whether or not they were actually on the register) the decision was very simple and they felt at peace with this.  For those who had never discussed their wishes, the families tended to struggle more with deciding what to do.  The feeling that their loved one 'had been through enough' was an emotion which made the decision to donate even more difficult.  It only strengthens the point that discussing your wishes with your family is by far the most important point.   Also interesting was the fact some donor families had never received a letter from the recipients.  I only spoke to a couple of people about this and one family felt upset about not receiving a letter, and another family spoke of how the letter had helped them.   I had offered that the main reason transplant recipients struggle to write a letter is probably a combination of factors, including the fear of upsetting the donor family, of knowing when the right time is and of course, the difficulty in beginning to express your gratitude.  It did bring me comfort that hopefully my family were helped by the letter I sent.   The rest of the afternoon was giving certificates and remembering each and every donor and as you can imagine this was very emotional.  I was very honoured to be part of the tributes to such special people.

It seemed rather poignant that yesterday was also Frances Ann's birthday - she would have been 26.  Mum and Dad stayed on the Sunday night and myself and mum went into town for a while.  Frances Ann would have approved of any activity that involved shops, and even better, buying clothes.   It was nice to spend the day with my family and we always think of Frances Ann with happy memories which we can share together.
September is such a difficult month but as a family we always get through it together.

My house is a total tip now!  The utility room had to be cleared at the weekend so the contents (including appliances) are now in my dining room, which is also the store room for tiles, and flooring and a toilet and sink...and goodness knows what else.   Apparently we have to start clearing the current kitchen (which will become a utility area) this week before we head to Cambridge on Thursday.     Not quite sure where the contents of kitchen are going though as the new one is not quite ready for cupboards to be filled.  I have just accepted the guddle though and think cleaning is very overrated anyway. ;-)

Seb continues to be naughty.  Today I moved all the cushions and propped them on the back of the couch against the wall - so that Seb would stop lying on them and making them all hairy.  I came home to find he had been lying on them along the back of sofa instead!!  So they were all mashed in between the sofa and wall, and covered in hairs.  I give in.   He also did a wee runner today.  He came into kitchen for a treat after his walk and then I told him to come back out - he looked at me for a second, then looked at the polythene sheet into extension, then just ran for it!!  The joiner got the fright of his life when this high speed fluffy tornado flew into the room and ran round and round in circles until I caught him.  Chancer.

I have spent the afternoon trying to decorate a mask for the ball -it is just plain and then I had some ribbons and a butterfly to decorate it with.  Can't quite decide if it looks good or just totally rubbish - at least no one will have the same mask :-)  I should probably have spent the afternoon clearing the kitchen but this was clearly a more pressing issue.