I am walking 188 miles from my house to my transplant centre, and here’s why….

I am in severe heart failure. I had a baby in 2016 and shortly after his birth I had a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection. It went undetected and so I went on to suffer subsequent heart attacks. The big one, an anterior STEMI left me with severe LVSD and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I have 6 boys ranging from 6-18 years and would give anything to see them grow up. My life expectancy is greatly affected by my condition and though transplant would be life saving, I am a carrier of HLA antibodies making transplant difficult. I have a Defib and take a cocktail of medications to keep me going. The chance of surviving my kind of situation is slim. I did so because I was lucky to end up in Blackpool hospital and they knew what to do. Since then I’ve been rejected by so many transplant teams and have constantly been told to drop weight. I need an incentive that goes beyond me. I will walk from my house to the transplant centre, a total of 188 miles in an attempt to lose weight, feel healthier and raise money to keep looking for a cure that doesn’t mean someone has to die so people like me can live. It’ll be hard but I’ll do it for the next woman being given a death sentence the same day she is handed a baby. I will do it so treatment can be found so she can watch her baby grow up. I’ll do it so I can live a longer/healthier life. I am out of condition, so tired, breathless and it gets me down. I need a focus and the BHF need cash. So watch me go from fat to fit to strengthen my heart and hearts around me. I know we can achieve this together, connecting hearts by sharing stories of those we’ve loved and lost to heart disease, and those we hope to save.

Starting cardiac numbers:

VO2 14%

EF below 35% update next week

Resting HR 62

BP 125/60

Miles to go 128