Log on to boost charity’s skills

Renfrewshire charities can sign up for a workshop to help sharpen their social media skills.

the free half-day session is being hosted tomorrow by Be good Be social, in Paisley, and will teach organisations about the power of social media.

Organised by One Digital and Home-start scotland, the event is on from 10am until 1.30pm.

the workshop is specifically designed for charities in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde and will be hosted at 70 Back sneddon street.

to register for the event, visit www. eventbrite.co.uk/o/ be-good-besocial-584052951 David Campbell

A pensioner took on the best of Britain to win gold — after receiving a liver transplant.

Janette Lynch, 72, was a picture of health as she won top spot in archery at the British Transplant Games last week, just two years after the major operation.

After being diagnosed with cancer of the liver in April 2014, she was faced with the prospect of needing transplant to stay alive.

A late night phone call gave her the lifeline she so desperately craved.

And now her fantastic sporting success marks a return to full health.

She said: “The doctors discovered I had a tumour on my liver, which was a huge shock.

“I went for a week-long assessment at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary liver unit to see if I was suitable to go on the waiting list for a transplant and it was decided I was.”

After receiving the nightmare news, it became a waiting game for Janette, and then, on January 26, 2015, the call came.

Janette said: “My daughter, Cristian, was going to donate a part of her liver to me, but then I got the call. It was 11.30pm on a Sunday night — the hospital said they had a potential match, but they needed to test it.

“At 3am, I was in an ambulance to Edinburgh. I arrived at 5am and was outside the theatre at 11.30am. They told me the donor had a scare with breast cancer in the past, but it was only a scare, so I signed the consent form.”

The operation was a success and Janette set about getting herself fighting fit with the help of other transplant survivors.

She explained: “I realised that there wasn’t a liver transplant support group in Renfrewshire, so I decided to set one up.

“I asked the consultant to send out invites to liver transplant recipients and 18 people turned up to our first meeting.

“At the second meeting, David Mushet came along and he encouraged me to go to the Linwood Park Run on a Saturday morning. I walk 5km and all the people there have been so supportive,” she said.

“From there, David, who has competed in the World Transplant Games and is a real inspiration, encouraged me to enter the British Transplant Games.”

The games, held in North Lanarkshire last week, were a huge success and Janette enjoyed every minute, managing to raise £300 for the British Liver Trust to be used for research into low survival rate cancers.

“I entered the archery and the power walking in my age group, much to the amusement of my friends and family.

“I decided I could do the walking and thought I should do something else, so I decided on archery,” she adds.

To Janette’s delight, she bagged a fantastic gold medal in her section in the archery, with a score of 182.

And it was all possible with a little help from her friends who helped her on her way.

She went on: “I went to Linwood Archers and they took me under their wing.

“They showed me the basics and I’m very grateful to them for that.

My daughter was going to donate part of her liver, but then I got a call — they had a potential match Janette Lynch