Steph’s story: ‘It’s almost like it never happened’

I offered to be a donor for Eleanor in October last year, after we found out that test results meant her first potential donor didn’t work out.

It wasn’t a hard decision really – we knew that Eleanor’s health would just keep getting worse and that a transplant was the only good long-term hope. I was pretty healthy, and I’ve had a good life so far doing lots of things that I’ve really enjoyed – it just seemed fair that Eleanor got the chance to do the same.

Once we got started, there were a lot of tests. The normal tests included blood and urine tests, chest X-rays, testing blood compatibility between me and Eleanor, an ECG, a psychological assessment and a CT scan.

I had a couple of things that needed to be checked out further, so I had more cardiac tests, an ultrasound and an MRI.

It sounds like a lot, and I got frustrated at times with how long it was taking. The transplant co-ordination team were really supportive and were clear that the transplant could only go ahead if they knew it wasn’t going to cause me any harm.

It took nine months before we got the OK – that was such a relief for us all. We thought we were going to have to wait about four months for the surgery, but a couple of weeks later we were asked if we could be ready to go ahead in a week’s time – of course we said yes.

The recovery time for the donor can be anywhere between six and 12 weeks. The client I was working with was understanding and I was able to take the time off, even at such short notice. And donors can get income compensation while they are recovering – so there were no financial worries about being off work.

The night before, we had a family dinner with Eleanor. It was a bit weird knowing what was going to happen to both of us in the next 24 hours – but we were all so pleased to know it was finally going to happen.

When I woke up after the surgery, I just wanted to know how Eleanor was going. It was all good news, and we saw each other in the recovery ward and had a brief chat about having a glass of

It took nine months before we got the OK – that was such a relief for us all.

champagne when we both felt better.

I left hospital three days later.

The next couple of weeks were a bit tough – but I had really good painkillers and the transplant co-ordinators were just a phone call away if I needed any help.

It took about five weeks before I felt things were getting back to normal.

It’s been four months since the transplant. I feel completely fine now. Apart from one smallish scar and still getting a bit tired, it’s almost like it never happened.

Except that when I see Eleanor – she’s a whole different person physically, and she’s doing things that weren’t realistic for her before.

That’s what makes it all worthwhile.