DIANA W

TRANSPLANT ATHLETE

I had a liver transplant in 1990 at the age of 38.  I'm not one who recovered quickly, but, after a year or two I recovered from the operation and my health has improved since then. I already had osteoporosis, but a few years ago my bone density results included the words 'severe osteoporosis' so I decided to do something about it. I started on HRT and I signed up for volleyball and tennis classes. I fell in love with tennis from day one. That was in 1998 and I've continued to take tennis lessons ever since.

A couple of years ago I heard about the World Transplant Games, which are held every other year, and signed up to play tennis. The transplant games are held to promote donor awareness and to show that recipients can be healthy, athletic people. In the summer of 1999 the 12th World Transplant games were held in Hungary and I was thrilled to get a bronze medal in tennis.

In October 2000 the first European Transplant games were held in Athens. I went as part of the Dutch team and got a silver medal in tennis and a gold in women's 50 meter freestyle swimming.

I love going to the games because I meet lots of healthy transplant recipients and we compare notes on medication side effects, etc, etc.  It's really a lot of fun and I tend to root for everyone to win (not just my own teammates) because any success is a success for the entire transplant community.

So, for any of you awaiting a transplant, after your successful operation, your PBC symptoms will disappear and you'll find that you're back to having a normal, healthy life. Can you imagine being able to do all the things that you've been missing out on for so many years?

Pictures of Transplant Games in Budapest 1999

Diana Watson

Amsterdam, Netherlands

tx : March 18, 1990