THIS is Natasha D’Arcy, a Southside mother-of-two, who was a guest at a very unique gathering of friends recently.
The 34-year-old was just one of eight other double lung transplant recipients who got together a few weeks ago to celebrate one of their birthdays, a 30th.
Were it not for the generosity of the families of the deceased donors, this group of friends, including Natasha, twin sisters, a bride to be and a brother sister duo, who are all united through their hereditary illness, would not be alive today.
They had all come close to death before receiving a lifeline from a donor stranger and last week they shared their stories during Organ Donor Awareness Week.
Two weeks ago this special group of people, whose friendship has endured over the many years since their Cystic Fibrosis (CF) diagnosis, came together for the first time.
Some of the friends had never met in person before and some had met at CF clinics. But they had all became a network of supportive friends through social media and phone texting.
Seven of their double lung transplant operations took place within 13 months, between June 2013 and July 2014, at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
The other two Irish transplant recipients underwent their life saving operations at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, England.
It was the 30th birthday celebration of one of their most recently transplanted friends, Leona Henry from Newbridge, that brought them together.
This milestone birthday was a cause for particular celebration as she had faced death before her life saving lung transplant came in July 2014, just over a year after her brother Thomas Henry (27), who also has CF, received his transplant in June 2013.
Natasha, from Leopardstown, was one of those attending Leona’s birthday.
Last week she recalled how she thought that Christmas 2013 would be her last with children Oisin (6) and Niamh (8).
“I was extremely ill,
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“Then I was given a lifeline when I was called for my double lung transplant in late November 2013, just three days after my friend Lar Brennan (30), from Blanchardstown, underwent his transplant.
“My children were very young throughout my illness and attended clinic appointments with me. They kept me going throughout and were my reason to keep fighting to survive.
“My donor has given me back my life and it’s thanks to this stranger that my children still have their mother. I can now enjoy the simple things in life like being able to walk my children to school and our dream for the future is to be able to go on a trip to Euro Disney.
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She was at Leona’s birthday alongside bride to be Aoife McKiernan (31) from Castleblaney, Co Monaghan who received a double lung transplant in July 2013.
Hoping to attend her wedding is Gordon Ryan (35), from Boyle, Co Roscommon who received his transplant just a few weeks after Aoife’s.
Amy McElhinney (26) from Rush, and a twin sister of one of the celebratory group, Jill McElhinney, was not able to attend Leona’s birthday party as she had just received a lung transplant operation at the Mater Hospital.
Her sister Jill who received her transplant in September 2013 was able to enjoy the birthday celebrations.
The oldest of the group of CF friends who attended Leona’s birthday party was Declan O’Doherty, who said:
“I feel privileged to be here today. Were it not for my donor I would not have been able to celebrate my 40th birthday last year, and meet my partner and live to see our family grow up.
“Leona and her brother Thomas have been my friends for a long time but I had never met Leona in person before her birthday celebration. It was wonderful to be able to finally get to meet her at her 30th birthday party earlier this month and to have a souvenir photograph of nine of us who are all here today thanks to our transplants. I would like to thank the families of our donors for making this possible.
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