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HELEN'S DIARY: I'm sleeping more now and think it'll get worse
Helen Miller from South Anston, is waiting for a lung transplant and is keeping a weekly diary to support The Star's Gift of Life campaign.
The 38-year-old mum of two wants readers to know what life is really like on the waiting list. Helen, who was a training manager before she fell ill, now has so little energy that brushing her hair and cleaning her teeth are exhausting. Here she explains how her condition badly affected her this week.
SATURDAY: Didn't feel too well but needed to get out and went to Meadowhall. I've had my hair in a pony tail for four days now as I haven't got the energy to wash it. I bought a few bits from the pound shop, they do great shampoo for red heads. It was my niece Jade's 21st birthday party and I agreed all my relatives could come to my house. They all had a good time and it was good to see everyone. They all keep up to date on The Star blog site as they live all over the country.
SUNDAY: I opened my eyes at 8am and thought 'oh my God what's wrong with me?' I tossed and turned and took painkillers and diazepam which made me doze until 10am. I retched all day, although wasn't sick, I had a migraine, I couldn't breathe properly, I was hot then cold. I sipped water. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to exist. This carried on till 6am the next morning. I couldn't lie down I was just retching. I didn't have an upset stomach. But then I found out the oxygen machine was playing up so they came out to fix it.
MONDAY: Mum came at 9am and started to sort me out after I had a good cry. She made me a cup of tea, I had a bit of breakfast took all my tablets and then sat on the settee and cuddled Mum.
I felt 80 per cent better then the day before and with mum's help by the end of the day I felt more or less back to my 'normal' self. I ate lunch and dinner and fell asleep for an hour. I have decided I am going to sleep when my body tells me to and stop up when I can. I don't care anymore if it's the wrong way around. John has started writing a bit on my web site.
TUESDAY: I tried a new headache remedy, it the one that you rub on your forehead and it worked! I was scared I have been taking too many tablets so I tried it and it worked. Let's see what happens next time.
Feel much better today had my hair dyed (yes, you guessed it bright red). The brighter the better. You can always recognise me - wheelchair, oxygen and red hair! Hello to the people who asked if I was Helen in the paper. Sorry I couldn't stop and speak but thank you for all your kind support.
It's 8pm and I'm still okay. I'm just going to get into bed and read for a while. I'm reading a book about a woman who had a heart and lung transplant. Its been very insightful, maybe too insightful.
WEDNESDAY: Woke a few times in the night and used the rub on headache stuff. It worked okay. I still took some pain killers an hour later for the pain in all my joints. I got up at 8.30am to a cup of tea from John and my usual piles of tablets. I am getting a bit forgetful now so I am going to make a list of all the tablets I take so I can remember them.
Mum and dad came round.
- The Star's Gift of Life campaign has added the names of 25,000 readers to the Organ Donor Register.
Currently 8,000 people in the UK are waiting for a new kidney, liver, lung or heart. But a shortage of organ donors means hundreds people are dying on the waiting list each year.
Click here to go to the Organ Donor Register
Dad fixed the light bulbs in Abby’s room as we are always forgetting and Mum took me shopping for a few bits.
THURSDAY: Slept a little better last night, however, I am sleeping more now and I think this will just get worse and worse.
Mum came early and helped hoover and clean, then took me to the shops to get a few bits. By this time it was 3pm and I was just so tired I had to go back to sleep. I woke again at 7pm just in time for Emmerdale. Still tired but I thought if I slept anymore I probably wouldn’t sleep tonight. I finished the book about the transplant and I am glad I read it.
Then again I’m scared at the prospect of having problems for the rest of my life.
n The Star’s Gift of Life campaign has already recruited 25,000 readers to the Organ Donor Register ahead of the 31st Westfield Health British Transplant Games.
Currently, 8,000 people in the UK are waiting for a new kidney, liver, lung or heart. But a shortage of organ donors means hundreds people are dying on the waiting list each year.
To sign up as an organ donor, visit www.thestar.co.uk/donor and click on the link to go to the Organ Donor Register.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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