Kirstie was 27, and blogged in her usual candid and ever positive style here when she knew that she was dying. Kirstie featured in a documentary about CF which you can see a clip of here. She went on to have not just one life saving double lung transplant, but two. These gave Kirstie five more years of life. She was an ambassador for the charity Live Life Give Life founded by the lovely Emily (also sadly no longer with us).
People sometimes ask me what they can do to help? Well, there are ways....
Fundraise for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. It doesn't have to be shaving your hair off, or climbing a mountain as I do, a cake sale at work can be wonderful too, or a non-school uniform day in fancy dress. The Trust fund research which WILL extend the lives of people with CF. And not just extend them, but also improve the quality of that life.
If fundraising is not your thing, then campaign to get more people signed up to the Organ Donor Register. Remind people; you are more likely to need an organ donation than you are to give one; Half of those listed die waiting; You must tell your next of kin your wishes, otherwise they can over ride yours; And that Transplants can and do SAVE lives.
If you haven't already, please sign up here.
Here is to those extra five years during which you lived and loved life to the full. Sleep tight Kirstie x
