TAKEN FROM SEAN'S WIFE DARIA'S PAGE

My husband Sean was fortunate enough to receive a very successful double lung transplant in the spring of 2012, after suffering from Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1 for short) causing emphysema. Although Sean passed away last May, those few years when he was healthy again are among the most precious memories that myself and my two sons have. From the small things like simply being able to climb a ladder and change a lightbulb to the bigger occasions like family weddings, it simply can't be put in to words how much that added time with our husband and father meant to us, and how it felt to see him back to his old self again. Sean was the most kind-hearted, positive and life-loving man you could ever have hoped to meet.

The Irish Heart and Lung Transplant Association, or IHTLA, is an organisation run by transplant recipients for transplant recipients who supported our family throughout this process, as they do with many other families every year. They rely solely on donations and public funding to run their organisation and provide this invaluable support. This year, I have decided to run the Dublin Marathon in memory of Sean and also in memory of Sean's lung donor. I'm asking for support and sponsorship, with all money raised going to the IHTLA. The gift of life is an amazing thing and one of the most precious things you can give. Please join me in raising money and awareness for this worthwhile but oft-overlooked cause by donating what you can and by becoming an organ donor, so that other transplant recipients may be given that same support and opportunities that we received and are thankful for every single day.