Norman's plea for new year resolutions

[okarol]

Norman's plea for new year resolutions
Published:  04 January, 2008

YOU only live once...or three times in the case of kidney transplant patient Norman Anderson, who is alive and very much kicking thanks to an organ donor.

Former oil rig worker Norman (53) developed kidney disease almost 30 years ago and, without a transplant, was facing a bleak future of gruelling dialysis.

But, within a few months of being put on a waiting list, along with dozens of other hopefuls, a call came out of the blue to say a match had been found.

Sadly, his body rejected the kidney and within a month he was back on dialysis, sitting on the machine for up to five hours a day, three times a week.

Two years later, he got a second chance when another match became available. This time, Norman found himself back on the waiting list after six months.

"I never thought that I would get another one because I'd been so lucky to get two. There was always a hope, but when the call came again it was amazing.

"I had my last transplant in 1990 and it's going to last for life. Before I got my first transplant, I didn't carry a donor card. I didn't even really know what a kidney was or what it did, or think I would ever need a new one.

"Now I try and encourage everyone I meet and talk to about it to register. The donor I had my last kidney from helped 14 people to live after their death," said Norman, of Buckie.

The many years he spent on dialysis has taken its toll on Norman, and the gout he has developed as a result of the sessions has forced him into a wheelchair.

But he has refused to let his transplants or his disability get in the way of his enjoyment of sport, and he has become an accomplished competitor across many disciplines.

He has won trophies for darts and snooker and, as a regular competitor at the British Transplant Games, has medals for bowling, fishing, and wheelchair racing.

More recently he has developed a passion for wheelchair curling and it is in this sport that he will be representing Scotland at the World Transplant Winter Games.

Along with Moray Wheelchair Curlers team mate, Mike McKenzie, he will fly out to Rovaniemi in Finland, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, in March.

Under the watchful eye of his granddaughter, Chelsea – also his coach – Norman will be going all out to bring home the gold medal to add to his collection.

He and Mike are in the process of raising funds to help cover the cost of competing – more than £2,000 – and hope that another kind of donor can be found.

Norman added: "There is a limited amount of sports you can do in a wheelchair, but curling is really accessible. I love it and I can't wait to go out to the winter games and experience something so different.

"In terms of the pain I feel, I'm usually a six out of 10 but the more activity you do, the less pain you feel because it takes your mind off it. And when I'm actually competing, I don't feel anything at all because I'm so focused on what I'm doing.

"My transplant has changed my whole life, so if you only make one new year resolution, make it to register as an organ donor. In death, you can bring life to someone else and I'm living proof that transplants can and do work."

* To register as an organ donor visit http://www.uktransplant.org.uk and to help Norman's fund-raising campaign, contact him on (01542) 839382.