Wouldn’t be here today...’

“My emotions were extraordinarily happy but I’m acutely aware that the family’s emotions are the total opposite.

“How do you write a letter that comes close to saying what it needs to say?

“I will keep writing at Christmas and sending cards and just hoping.

“I think of her a lot and think of her name and she’s an incredibly special woman and her family are the same for letting her donate them because the family get the final say.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Six months after her transplant she won five medals including a Gold at the British Transplant Games.

Her running times are now better than before her transplant.

“I felt that running was a huge part of what got me through, it kept me fit enough to survive it.”

The most recent event for Ellie, 32, who is an ambassador for Blacks, is taking part in the Adidas Infinite Trails World Championship in Austria.

Running alongside her in the relay was husband Paul.

She will never forget what the NHS did for her.

“It’s an institution that I cannot believe that so many people would come together to save me.

“They saved my whole life, and that was people working extraordinarily hard and coming together.

“The amount of organisation behind the scenes is extraordinary and all of that just to save me.

“I’ve done nothing, but they saved me. What can you say to that. There are no words.

“It’s an extraordinary institution run by the most caring people I’ve ever had the privilege to meet”.