Lung donor gave me the chance to be a mother
LIKE most mothers, Lynette Armitage shares a close bond with her daughter Ariana.
But it is one made more intense because both have fought for their lives.
Cystic fibrosis sufferer Miss Armitage owes everything to the donor who gave her new lungs when time was running out for her four years ago. She later had to watch Ariana cling on to life after being born 12 weeks early weighing only 2lb 2oz.
When Miss Armitage, 26, lay waiting for a lung transplant, she did not know if she would survive, let alone ever become a mother. She even planned her own funeral as she lay in hospital.
Born with a condition in which the lungs and digestive system become clogged with thick, sticky mucus, she had battled through with medication until the spring of 2012, when swine flu weakened her already fragile lungs.
Miss Armitage, who lives in Stirling, recalled: ‘I was so sick and weak, it was all a blur. I kept hearing the doctors talk to my parents about a lung transplant, and tell them it was my only hope. It was devastating to hear.’ She was put onto the transplant list, but six months later was still waiting.
She added: ‘With each passing day I just grew sicker and weaker. I couldn’t breathe by myself, I relied on a machine to help me breathe. My lungs were just giving up – I was convinced that my time was almost up.
‘I started planning my own funeral and told mum that I wanted everyone to wear bright colours instead of black. My parents were absolutely devastated.’
But the call came to say that a pair of donor lungs had been found for her. She said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I got the call. I was rushed by ambulance to hospital and later that day I was taken down to the operating theatre.’
‘The transplant was a success and I couldn’t believe how different I felt straight away. For the first time in months I could breathe by myself and I instantly felt stronger. It was like I’d been given a fresh burst of life.’
Miss Armitage was allowed home from hospital after four weeks and just six months later, in August 2014, made the remarkable discovery that she was pregnant. She said: ‘I’d been in a relationship but we had parted when I found I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it, it seemed like a miracle.’
Doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy because of the risk to her new lungs. But Miss Armitage was determined to give her baby the best chance.
She said: ‘I didn’t care how risky it was for me, I wasn’t going to abort my baby. Mum and dad were worried sick but they supported me.
‘Luckily, the pregnancy didn’t seem to affect my lungs or my breathing and everything was going well.’
But then, in February 2015, when she was 28 weeks pregnant, Miss Armitage went into premature labour.
She said: ‘I was worried about how small Ariana was but remarkably she was healthy. She was in hospital for three months, then I was finally allowed to bring her home. She’s grown into the most lovely little girl. She’s got a great personality – she’s bubbly, caring and really loving.
‘She loves nothing better than having a cuddle with me. She’s really outgoing, too.
‘I feel very blessed. Every day I look at her and think how lucky I am to have her. When she calls me “mummy”, its the best thing in the world. I always wonder what I’ve done to deserve her.
‘Ariana has also been tested for my condition and luckily she doesn’t have it, which I’m incredibly thankful for.
‘Getting my new lungs was the most remarkable gift – it allowed me to survive and be a mum. I feel like the luckiest mum in the world.’
‘I didn’t care how risky it was for me’