I think the term "life changing" gets thrown around a bit too freely these days. Up until now in my 36 years on this planet, I only considered a few events in my life as honestly 'life changing': meeting and marrying my wonderful wife, and the births of our children. Sure, other things have definitely been big events and pivot points, but I wouldn't classify them in the realm of 'life changing'.

However, a few weeks ago, I had another life changing event.

On the 17 June 2019, on our daughter Zoe's 1st birthday, I had a liver transplant.

Although it is still early days with the new organ, everything looks to be going well, and I am generally progressing well in terms of recovery from this major surgery.

One of the first things I want to do publicly is to acknowledge the immense gift of this organ from the donor and their family. Although I will never know the identity of the person (government laws and regulations), I am so immensely grateful beyond words for the decision they, and their family, made.

It is a cruel situation that this extraordinary positive change and source of happiness and hope for me and my family has come from a source of tragedy and sorrow for the donor and their family. Somebody somewhere died in order for me to receive this organ and a second chance at life. I promise that I will not take it for granted.

The story of how and where I was when I received 'the call' for the transplant, plus my time in hospital and afterwards, can wait for the next blog post. I am looking forward to getting used to this new organ, rebuilding my strength, and getting close to the 'normal' life that I have not experienced for nearly 9 years.

I would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support for myself and for my family during this difficult and stressful time. Your prayers, messages, and assistance have meant so much to me and our extended family.