The A - Z of me.


Has it been done before or have I dreamt it up? Suspect I've read it on another blog but cannot find where....anyway, here's my very own personal A - Z.

A is for... well, quite clearly A is for A. My A. That's all that needs to be said on the matter.
B is for... Blonde - both in hair colour and in the brain.
C is for... Choirs. I love them. I run one, sing in one, and help coach in others (mostly for children). The feeling you get from singing together in harmony is awesome.
D is for... Determinism. I'd like to think I have a fair amount of this. It could also be called stubbornness.
E is for...Excitable; I have a tendancy to become far too over excited and need to go for a lie down (sad but true).
F is for... Friends. I have some that are absolutely invaluable; I don't know where I'd be without them.
G is for... Glee. I wish people in my life would burst into song or know the harmonies automatically when I do.
H is for... Hope. I think it's pretty damn important to have hope in your life; when in a difficult situation I'm always craning my neck looking for the rainbow.
I is for... Imagination. I have a vivid one, which is not always a good thing.
J is for... Jewellery. I am a bit of a magpie and have a huge assortment of big sparkly necklaces, bracelets and earrings. I like sparkly stuff.
K is for... Kettle. OK cheating here as I'm trying to get to Tea. A strong hot cup of tea can work wonders in most situations. I probably drink too much of it but it's my only real caffine fix (not a big coke or coffee drinker)
L is for... Life. It's a wonderful wonderful thing.
M is for...Music. I come from a musical family and can't imagine a day without it. Music is food for the soul.
N is for... Nurture. My family are a big part of my life, always have been, always will be.
O is for... Optimism. I am an optimist, however with a good healthy dose of realism. I rather like Peter Ustinov's quote on it: "I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool an optimist must know how sad a place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day."
P is for... Pink. Because I love it.
Q is for... Quotes. Quotes about life, about love, about hope or motivation. I collect them for rainy days, as exemplified above.
R is for... Reading. I was brought up in a house piled high with books, with parents who would read us a variety of stories (with all the voices) from a very early age. I love getting lost in a good book, but am notorious for returning to my beloved old favourites.
S is for... Shoes. I love them, but am completely incapable of walking in heels in an attractive womanly way.
T is for...Teaching. I teach a variety of ages, and I absolutely love it. I find it extremely rewarding and each day is refreshingly different from the last.
U is for... University. My years at Bristol University were some of the most exciting and happiest in my life so far. That is despite my, by then, extremely poor health. University taught me a lot (mostly in the school of life), and gave me some wonderful friends.
V is for... Vitamins. CFers have to take vitamin supplements due to absorbtion problems, and along with my enzymes, I've been on these since I was born and always will be.
W is for... Waterworks (of the teary nature). I am not an attractive crier and unfortunately cry at the drop of a hat.
X is for...X-rays. On guestimation I've had around 200 X-rays in my lifetime so far. Probably more in fact.
Y is for... Youth. I still feel like I am in my teens, and that I could wander into a high school classroom, sit down in a lesson, and feel perfectly at home. This is despite the fact I teach this age-group...
Z is for... Zzz - I love my bed. I love curling up on it just to lie and read.

"Rich is excited about what the future might hold"

That's my mate Rich's facebook status at the moment.

A couple of weeks ago, Rich was in the Brompton hospital where he had been living for the past two months. He was unable to do....well, anything really. He was using a bi-pap (non-invasive ventilator) pretty much all the time just to keep breathing, he was extremely ill, and his quality of life was poor to say the least.

Rich got his call for his new lungs and new life in mid-june and so far, is recovering extremely well. His facebook status brought tears to my eyes as that's exactly the point; Rich is now able to contemplate the idea of a future. Of new and exciting possibilities. Of persuing dreams and ambitions. Of simply being around for family and friends. There's a chance, there's hope, there's more to come.

Yesterday I logged onto facebook to read that Donna Mansell - an avid campaigner who was waiting for a new heart - had died. Donna leaves behind a grieving husband, and a seven year old daughter.

This is the very real reason that we need to keep campaigning for more donors and for improvements to the transplant system in the UK. If it wasn't for my donor, the top of this blog would now read "1984 - 2007".

National Transplant Week starts this Sunday and runs all week. Please take the opportunity to raise Organ Donation with someone who might have never even thought about it before. There are events happening across the country; you can join in in a thousand different ways, and make a difference.

Let's give more people the chance to think about what the future might hold. The chance to contemplate careers, families, mortgages...all those things that most of us take for granted.

Organ Donation saves lives; the lack of registered donors kills. Please, think about it, talk about it, do something about it.

Thank you.