Sandra’s husband, Paul, has cirrhosis and is on the liver transplant waiting list. She shares how she raised over £1,000 for the British Liver Trust while she was very busy caring for him. Thank you so much Sandra.
The fundraiser gave us such a boost to see how many people care and really helped us through a hard time.
"The past year has been very tough as Paul has deteriorated due to his condition. When my birthday came round this year, it was the last thing on my mind.
"Living with someone who is so ill and in desperate need of a transplant allows you to put a lot of things into perspective and is also a stark reminder of just how fragile life can be.
"Paul was diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis in February 2019 and just days later had a major stroke followed by a brain haemorrhage all within weeks. Thankfully he has recovered from both of these and was placed on the waiting list for a liver transplant under Kings College Hospital in London in October 2019.
"He remains very ill but stable, and for now at home, thankfully, under the care of our amazing local community nurses and a hospice palliative care specialist who help manage his condition while he waits for that call.
"While things are very busy at home looking after Paul, about a week before my birthday I received a link on Facebook about setting up a birthday fundraiser. I used a personal statement (instead of the generic one) and included photos of us – I think this made a huge difference.
"We are also so lucky to have an amazing community of friends, family and local support around us following our journey and it is all thanks to those amazing individuals that we managed to raise such a great total of £1,145 - just by sharing a fundraiser on Facebook.
"This process was extremely simple and straightforward and also a lovely distraction from the fact that Paul was admitted again into hospital over my birthday.
"This fundraiser gave us such a boost to see how many people care and really helped us through a hard time as we saw the updates, posts and total go up.
"We are so very grateful for everyone involved who donated and everyone involved in Paul’s care.
"We hope these funds help support others in the same position as us because this is not easy, but with the support of good people around you really can achieve anything.”
You can set up a Facebook Fundraiser at any time – for birthdays, anniversaries, fundraising challenges or simply to raise awareness or share your story. Visit https://www.facebook.com/fund/britishlivertrust/ to get started and click on ‘Create a fundraiser’.
